Focus on the Gulf States

By Tom Gross

I attach four articles from today and yesterday involving states in the Persian Gulf.

They cover the following issues:

The Wall Street Journal: Largest Hunger Strick by Imprisoned Liberal Reformers in Bahrain’s History.

More than 700 prisoners are staging the largest hunger strike in Bahrain’s history. Many are pro-democracy dissidents, including people imprisoned for taking part in the Arab Spring protests back to 2011 and still held in torturous, filthy conditions.

The New York Times: US Knew Saudis were Killing African Migrants but Kept Silent 

The United States was told last year that Saudi security forces were shooting, shelling and abusing groups of African refugees and migrants, but it chose not to raise the issue publicly.

The Wall Street Journal: Iran Cracks Down on Activists ahead of Anniversary of Mahsa Amini’s Death

Iran is cracking down on activists ahead of the first anniversary of Mahsa Amini’s death, seeking to head off a new outbreak of civil disobedience. Among those taken into custody in recent days are Nasrin Alizadeh, whose sister was killed during the 2022 protests in the city of Chalus. She was arrested Wednesday by security forces at her Isfahan residence and taken to an undisclosed location. Her deceased sister’s husband was taken into custody a week earlier. Security forces also raided the home of 21-year-old Houman Abdollahi, who was shot dead by the regime last December in the predominantly Kurdish city of Sanandaj.

Haaretz: Qatari PM: Our Country is Not at War with Israel 

The Prime Minister of Qatar, Mohammed al-Thani, raised the possibility of formal relations with Israel on Friday while speaking at a conference in Singapore. Tom Gross: Israel and Qatar have long had informal ties. Many have been covert, but some have been overt such as when I sat between Qatari and Israeli security officials at the much publicized Doha Forum in 2012.)