Like many paradigms across the globe, the coronavirus pandemic and its associated economic downturn have changed the paradigm shaping debates about Gulf security that was inevitably set to gradually migrate from a unipolar US defence umbrella that shielded energy-rich monarchies against Iran to an architecture that was more multilateral.

Resolving the tug of war in the Middle East amid coronavirus crisis

While much of the focus in recent weeks has been on Israel’s relations with China, the real litmus test of the United States’ ability to counter the People’s Republic’s growing footprint in the Middle East is likely to be in the Gulf.

How big power rivalry is likely to unfold in the Gulf region

A second wave of the coronavirus pandemic is raising its ugly head. It is putting Middle Eastern leaders at a crossroads as they struggle to contain the disease and tackle its economic fallout.

Middle East struggles to contain coronavirus spread and tackle its economic fallout

Iranian naval activity in the Gulf and Turkish maritime expansion in the Eastern Mediterranean have hogged the limelight, but Russian and Gulf policymakers are also watching with Argus eyes moves by the Islamic Republic in the Caspian Sea.

Iran's expanding naval presence in Caspian Sea puts spotlight on great power rivalry

China and the Gulf states are in the same boat as they grapple with uncertainty about regional security against the backdrop of doubts about the United States’ commitment to the region.

China can no longer rely on US defence umbrella for security in the Gulf region

The Firefly, an Israeli-built loitering kamikaze drone, part of the Spike family of missiles that the Jewish state has sold to various European nations, may be one reason why Gulf states, and particularly Saudi Arabia, have cosied up to Israel in a seeming reversal of their past support of Palestinian rights.

Israel a more reliable partner to Gulf states

The coronavirus pandemic’s economic fallout calls into question Gulf states’ ability to fund a brewing, costly regional arms race. That, in turn, could not only reshape their geopolitical posture but also efforts to make the military a pillar of a new national identity at a time that they are forced to renegotiate outdated social contracts.

The potential dark side of the militarisation of Gulf societies

Air India's first repatriation flight took off from Kochi for Abu Dhabi on Thursday afternoon. The flight will be bringing back Indian nationals to the country soon.

India's biggest repatriation operation begins; Air India flight to land in Kochi tonight

India's relationship with the Arab world was impacted in the last few weeks and one of the major reasons was fake Twitter handles used from Pakistan to defame India.

Diplomacy at work to ease off straining Indo-Arab ties

Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to intervene in bringing back bodies of the Keralites who died in Gulf countries of reasons other than COVID-19 infection.

Kerala CM requests PM to help bring back the remains of NKRs who died due to non-COVID reasons in Gulf countries

Twitter has suspended a fake account which was used by Pakistan's spy agency Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) to spread false news about India in the Gulf states.

Twitter suspends ISI's fake account being used to spread fake news against India in Gulf countries

There is little indication that Middle-Eastern rulers are learning the lessons of the Coronavirus’ devastating effect. Nor is there any suggestion that they are willing to see the pandemic as an opportunity to negotiate new social contracts at a time that the virus has temporarily taken the sails out of mass anti-government protests in various countries and discontent continues to simmer in others.

Coronavirus outbreak: How Middle-East is dealing with the global pandemic

The Eastern Mediterranean has become a flash-point for the meshing of geopolitics, the struggle for regional hegemony, battles for control of resources, religious soft power rivalry, and blatant interference in the politics of others.

Eastern Mediterranean region: A microcosm of regional and global battles

Saudi Arabia this week hosts the world's richest horse race, with $20 million in cash prizes on offer in the latest international sports extravaganza designed to boost its battered global image.

Saudi Arabia to host world's richest horse race

By Alainna Liloia Arab women, long relegated to the private sphere by law and social custom, are gaining new access to public life. All countries of the Arab Gulf now have workforce “nationalisation policies” that aim to reduce dependency on migrant labour by getting more women into the workforce.

Women in Arab countries find themselves torn between opportunity and tradition

The optics seem evident: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is at odds with just about everybody. Erdogan is on opposite sides of Russia in Syria, with Turkish and Syrian troops poised for an all-out fight in the north of the war-torn country, as well as, in Libya.

Erdogan battles on multiple fronts in risky regional power bid

A decade of anti-government protests in the Arab world have thrown popular trust in the military into the garbage bin and undermined the military’s position as one of the most trusted institutions.

Protesters push Arab militaries off their pedestal

The Ministry of External Affairs on Wednesday said that it has advised all Indian nationals to avoid all non-essential travel to Iraq until further notice. According to government sources, Indian airlines have been told to avoid the airspace of Iran, Iraq and the Gulf region due to the escalating tension in the said areas.

Amid escalating tension, Indian air carriers told to avoid airspace of Iran, Iran and Gulf region

At least 50 people were killed in a stampede as tens of thousands of mourners packed streets for the funeral of a slain Iranian military commander in his hometown on Tuesday, forcing his burial to be delayed by several hours, state media said.

At least 50 killed in stampede at Iranian general's funeral, burial postponed

A deadly stampede erupted on Tuesday at the funeral procession for a top Iranian general Qasem Soleimani, killing 35 people and injuring 48 others. The procession was being held in Soleimani's hometown of Kerman, where he will be laid to rest later in the day, according to state media.

Stampede kills 35 at slain Iranian general Qasem Soleimani's funeral

The killing of Iranian general Qasem Soleimani has further opened the door to a potential restructuring of the Gulf’s security architecture. In line with an Iranian plan launched at last year’s United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) by President Hassan Rouhani that calls for a security architecture that would exclude external forces, cooler heads in Tehran argue that expulsion of all US troops from the Middle East would constitute revenge for Soleimani’s assassination.

Qasem Soleimani’s death opens a door to alternative security arrangements in the Gulf

Gulf stocks fell sharply in early trade on Sunday, led by Kuwaiti shares, on escalating tensions between the United States and Iran. Iranian military commander Qassem Soleimani, the architect of Tehran's overseas clandestine and military operations was killed on Friday in a US drone strike on his convoy at Baghdad airport.

Gulf markets plunge on US-Iran tensions, Kuwait lead fall

A first-ever joint Chinese-Russian-Iranian naval exercise signals that closer Chinese military ties with a host of Middle Eastern nations does not translate into Chinese aspirations for a greater role in regional security any time soon.

Gulf security: Here's why China wants the US to remain the key military player

Saudi efforts to negotiate an end to the Yemen war in a bid to open a dialogue with Iran could call into question continued Gulf support for US President Donald J.

Mending Gulf fences could weaken support for US sanctions against Iran

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