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Bahrain

November 23, 2024

Umm ash Sha‘ūm 7:45 pm

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US President Donald Trump (L) speaks with Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (C) as Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe (R), Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi (2nd R) and Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May smile during a family photo session at the G20 Summit in Osaka on June 28, 2019. (Photo by KIM KYUNG-HOON / POOL / AFP) (Photo credit should read KIM KYUNG-HOON/AFP via Getty Images)

Analysis

Beyond congratulations, Trump faces changed, eastward-looking Gulf

Gulf states are familiar with Donald Trump and his transactional nature but have also managed to forge their own regional alliances over the last four years.

Jennifer Gnana

By Jennifer Gnana

In Dubai, reporting on Gulf energy policy and politics

An exterior view of the US Capitol on September 9, 2024 in Washington, DC.

Analysis

US lawmakers act to boost Israel-Arab military coordination to counter Iran

Legislation to promote information sharing between senior Arab and Israeli military officials is on its way to becoming law.

Megan Mineiro

By Megan Mineiro

In Washington, DC, reporting on US Congress

A Middle East Airlines commercial aircraft taking off from Beirut's international airport flies amid smoke billowing above the Lebanese capital's southern suburbs, in the aftermath of overnight Israeli airstrikes, on Sept. 28,2024.

Middle East airlines alter, axe flights following Iran missile attack on Israel

Late on Tuesday, Iran launched more than 180 ballistic missiles at Israel in what it said was in retaliation for last Friday’s assassination of Hassan Nasrallah, the chief of Lebanon-based militia Hezbollah.

Bahrain's Bapco Energies signs pipeline deal with BlackRock

Bahrain, one of the smallest producers in the Gulf, is focused on developing its downstream sector and looking at asset monetization deals.

Latest News

Analysis

Will Iran and Bahrain open new chapter in bilateral ties?

Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei (R), meets with Bahraini king Hamad bin Issa al-Khalifa (L) August 18, 2002 at Tehran.

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

Bahrain king pardons 457 prisoners: What we know

Bahrain's King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa attends a signing ceremony with Chinese President Xi Jinping (not pictured) at the Great Hall of the People on May 31, 2024, in Beijing, China.

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Middle East athletes rack up 44 medals at Paris Olympics

Imane Khelif

US cautious on Iran’s Bahrain frozen funds claims, warns of sanctions

Pictured are participants of the 19th Asia Cooperation Dialogue Ministerial Meeting held June 24, 2024, in Tehran.

Jennifer Gnana

Gulf Correspondent

In Dubai, reporting on Gulf energy policy and politics

Sebastian Castelier

In Dubai, reporting on regional business

Karen Young

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional energy

What fading oil fortunes means for Turkey's businesses

Turkish businesspeople are losing sleep over oil-producing states' deferrals of payments to international contractors and the possible loss of mega projects.

Fighters from the Democratic Forces of Syria position themselves in Ghazila village after taking control of the town from Islamic State forces in the southern countryside of Hasaka, Syria February 17, 2016. Picture taken February 17, 2016. REUTERS/Rodi Said - RTX27JLM

Can Ankara's plans keep up with Syria's escalation?

The course of events in Syria offer opportunities but also new threats to Ankara, which still has to deal with structural flaws in its Syrian policy.

Qatar's Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani (C) arrives in Mehrabad airport ahead of the 16th summit of the Non-Aligned Movement in Tehran, August 30, 2012. REUTERS/Roohollah Vahdati/ISNA (IRAN - Tags: POLITICS) FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY. NOT FOR SALE FOR MARKETING OR ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS. THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. IT IS DISTRIBUTED, EXACTLY AS RECEIVED BY REUTERS, AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS - RTR379P1

Qatar's precarious position between Saudi Arabia, Iran

The recent decline in Saudi-Iranian relations has put GCC members in a bind, in particular Qatar, which for years has tried to maintain diplomatic and economic ties with Iran.

Iranian protesters chant slogans as they hold pictures of Shi'ite cleric Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr during a demonstration against the execution of Nimr in Saudi Arabia, outside the Saudi Arabian Embassy in Tehran January, 3, 2016. REUTERS/Raheb Homavandi/TIMA ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY. - RTX20VH0

Saudi executions signal royal worries

Saudi Arabia's execution of 47 people, including a poplar Shiite cleric, point to the royal family's growing concerns about the kingdom's stability.

Syrian migrants walk towards the Greece border on a road near Edirne, Turkey, September 15, 2015. REUTERS/Osman Orsal - RTS165C

Why the Gulf isn't to blame for Syrian refugee crisis

Oil-rich Gulf states are defending their record in assisting Syrian refugees as world opinion grows more hostile to their perceived indifference.

U.S. President Barack Obama meets with Saudi Arabia's King Salman (R) at Erga Palace in Riyadh, January 27, 2015. Obama is stopping in Saudi Arabia on his way back to Washington from India to pay his condolences over the death of King Abdullah and to hold bilateral meetings with King Salman. REUTERS/Jim Bourg (SAUDI ARABIA - Tags: POLITICS ROYALS) - RTR4N551

What Obama should say to King Salman during his visit

The inaugural visit of Saudi Arabia's King Salman bin Abdul-Aziz Al Saud to Washington offers US President Barack Obama a unique opportunity to address the long-standing tensions and rivalry between Iran, Iraq and the GCC states.

Lobbying 2015: US turns page on Bahrain's crackdown

US military aid to the tiny Gulf kingdom of Bahrain is flowing again after its strong anti-Islamic State stance and pricey PR push.

Shi'ite fighters from Hashid Shaabi forces walk with their weapons at the front line at the Shi'ite Turkman village of Bashir, 20km south of Kirkuk, March 14, 2015. Kurdish peshmerga forces, backed by Shi'ite militia fighters, have been attacking Islamic State-held towns and villages south and west of the oil-rich city of Kirkuk, peshmerga sources said. REUTERS/Ako Rasheed (IRAQ - Tags: CIVIL UNREST CONFLICT POLITICS MILITARY) - RTR4TCDN

Leaked cables show Gulf leery of Shiite expansion

The Gulf states are concerned about the growing influence of Shiites in neighboring countries, expressing their fears of the relations established between the Shiites of Iran and Iraq and their own Shiite communities.

A F/A-18E Super Hornet of the Strike Fighter Squadron 31, known as the Tomcatters, conducts an arrested landing onboard the USS Theodore Roosevelt aircraft carrier in the Arabian Sea December 3, 2008. Picture taken December 3, 2008. REUTERS/Hamad I Mohammed (ARABIAN SEA) - RTR22B6Q

Bahrain bristles at threat to move 5th Fleet

The House passed an annual defense bill that requires the Navy to plan for a potential relocation.

A tear gas canister is seen on the ground after anti-government protesters pushed through security forces to retake Pearl Sqaure in Manama February 19, 2011. Anti-government protesters in Bahrain swarmed back into the symbolic Pearl Square on Saturday, putting riot police to flight in a striking victory for their cause. REUTERS/James Lawler Duggan (BAHRAIN - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) - RTR2ITOT

Bahrain asks Congress for help in restoring arms sales

Manama's embassy in Washington is circulating a letter calling for a united front against IS, Iran; Bahrain is courting Congress in its effort to get the Obama administration to unblock weapons sales that were suspended after its 2011 crackdown on Shiite-led protesters.

A protester carries a Bahraini flag as they clash with riot police in the village of Bilad Al Qadeem south of Manama, February 6, 2015.
Protesters clashed with riot police demanding for the release of Bahraini opposition leader Sheik Ali Salman. Sheik Salman, head of the al-Wefaq Islamic Society was arrested on December 28, 2014 after leading a protest rally against elections in November which his party boycotted. REUTERS/ Hamad I Mohammed (BAHRAIN). - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) - RTR4OIT8

Does Iran have a card to play in Bahrain?

While protests in Bahrain have remained largely peaceful, does Iran have any influence among the various Bahrain opposition groups?

10 Middle East artists to watch

Many female artists in the Middle East and North Africa are redefining their mediums.