This backgrounder provides an overview of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), a regional political and economic alliance comprising six states in the Arabian Peninsula: Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates.
The US-Iran standoff over the Strait of Hormuz — disruptive to global trade and energy flows, and devastating for debt-burdened economies — has handed Pakistan an unexpected geoeconomic opportunity, one that may persist even if the framework agreement announced on June 14 results in a lasting peace and permanent reopening of the strait. But seizing it will have interlocking consequences for Islamabad’s ties with Tehran, Washington, and the Gulf states.
As the US and Iran move to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, the war’s real lesson lies in how Gulf states rapidly adapted — building pipelines, ports, and rail to bypass the chokepoint. Washington should seize this momentum, pursuing a “long game” of regional connectivity that serves shared security and economic interests.
A senior member of the Palestinian Hamas has said the militant group and Tehran have recently managed to repair their relations which were strained as a result of the two sides’ differences over the Syrian conflict previously. According to Iran’s Fars News Agency, Mousa Abu Marzouk, a Hamas official, told a Palestinian TV that Hamas’ relationship with the Islamic Republic is “excellent” – adding that Iran responds positively to the group’s requests which are often denied by other countries.
The head of Asa’ib Ahl al-Haq (AAH), an Iranian-supported Iraqi militia group, has said that the country’s paramilitary forces known as the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) will remain a military organization and participate in the upcoming parliamentary elections at the same time.
In this week’s Monday Briefing, MEI experts Gerald Feierstein, Paul Salem, Charles Lister, Jean-François Seznec, and Jonathan M. Winer provide analysis on recent and upcoming events including the shaping of U.S.-Saudi relations, Pompeo’s appointment to secretary of state, Turkey’s capture of Afrin, the future of Saudi energy, and Egypt’s efforts to unite the Libyan military.
Former Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s relations with the regime have reached a new low since the Judiciary imprisoned his associates Hamid Baqaei and Esfandiar Rahim-Mashaei on embezzlement charges. Reacting to the Judiciary’s ruling, Ahmadinejad disclosed the charges against Baqaei in detail, which shed light on the operational mode of the Quds Force of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC QF).
The March 6 arrest of Hossein Shirazi, son of prominent Iraqi Persian cleric Ayatollah Sadeq Shirazi, has triggered protests by non-Iranian Shiites – signifying the inherent tensions between the Iranian state and transnational Shiite clergy institutions.
Earlier today, worshippers in the central Iranian province of Isfahan used the occasion of Friday prayers to protest against the government. According to Radio Farda, the protesters turned their back to the Friday prayer leader as a gesture of disdain and chanted anti-regime slogans.
The foreign ministers of Iran, Turkey and Russia today held a trilateral meeting in Astana, Kazakhstan’s capital, to discuss the Syrian conflict. In a statement after the meeting, the three sides stressed that they will work together to seek a political settlement to end the seven-year war and protect Syria’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.
Iraq’s Vice President Ayad Allawi has called on Iran to stop interference in the Iraqi internal affairs, Fars News Agency, which is affiliated with Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, reported.
Iran’s Assembly of Experts has said that Tehran will not negotiate with Western powers over its defense matters and called on the government to further enhance the country’s ballistic missile program.
Asa’ib Ahl al-Haq, an Iranian-supported Iraqi militia group, has accused the US military forces of trying to rig Iraq’s upcoming parliamentary elections in Sunni regions, Fars News Agency, which is affiliated with Iran’s Revolutionary Guards reported.
On Monday, the Taliban briefly overrun a district in western Afghanistan’s Farah Province bordering Iran, just days after the insurgents killed several Afghan security forces in another district in the province. With Farah teetering on the brink of collapse, Afghan officials blame the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) for aiding the Taliban insurgents in western Afghanistan in an effort to torpedo construction projects and undermine stabilization efforts by the US-led coalition in the region.
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Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman will land in the U.S. on March 19 as part of a three week, multi-city tour. It’s his first extended foreign travel, which has already taken him to London, since being named Saudi heir apparent in June 2017.
The oldest peer-reviewed publication dedicated to the study of the modern Middle East, MEI’s flagship journal covers politics, society, and culture in the region.
