... country, the political pressure on Qatar from a number of neighbouring Arab states and the never-ending tension between Iran and Saudi Arabia are just the most graphic illustrations of this dangerous situation [
1
]. In addition, many Gulf countries are becoming increasingly vulnerable to domestic social and political unrest due to increasing volatility in the global oil market and to in-house reform efforts with so far unclear results.
The GCC is in a state of paralysis and its future remains unclear with many implications of the Qatari crisis still present [
2
]....
... that local actors do not have agency, far from it. They have agency including on this Gulf issue, but where America puts its thumb down on the scales, has a major impact... ... are seeing from the UAE in the region would arguably look very different if the U.S.-Saudi Arabia-Iran triangle of engagement took a new turn.
Likewise and although its... ... I think it was a huge mistake to enact the blockade of Qatar and threaten a fellow GCC state in such a way, it also exacerbated problems in the sub-region. An unintended...
....”
REUTERS/Jim Bourg/Piхstream
Nikolay Soukhov:
One Thousand and One Nights: Barack Obama
on Missile Defence in the Persian Gulf
Оne of the agreements reached at the summit was to jointly develop a region-wide ballistic missile defense capability and ... ... to jointly develop a region-wide ballistic missile defense capability and a ballistic missile early warning system. Several GCC states have necessary defense components in place already, such as short-range Patriot systems in Saudi Arabia and THAAD systems in Qatar, but the new agreement provides for the installation of a comprehensive system that would ...
