ARP Digital, a Bahrain-based institutional digital asset infrastructure provider, has secured a broker-dealer license from Dubai's Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA), enabling the firm to offer regulated cryptocurrency services in Dubai.
The United States and Iran engaged in intensifying military exchanges across the Middle East over multiple days in early July 2026, with U.S. airstrikes against Iran and Iranian retaliatory attacks targeting U.S.-allied countries including Bahrain, Kuwait, and Qatar. The escalation threatens to collapse an interim ceasefire deal signed just weeks earlier, with President Trump declaring the truce "over."
Iran launched drone and missile attacks on Kuwait and Bahrain on Sunday following consecutive US airstrikes against Iranian targets near the Strait of Hormuz, threatening to halt all negotiations as the 121-day conflict escalates. Kuwait intercepted Iranian drones and ballistic missiles while Bahrain activated air raid sirens.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio convened with Gulf Cooperation Council foreign ministers in Manama on June 25, 2026, to discuss a broader Iran agreement including curbs on missiles and proxies, while reaffirming US-Gulf partnerships and addressing regional issues in Syria, Lebanon, and Gaza.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio is visiting the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, and Bahrain to address Gulf Arab concerns about a preliminary agreement with Iran that aims to end hostilities. Rubio emphasized that no country, including Iran, would be allowed to charge tolls for shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.
The United States military shot down Iranian drones over the Strait of Hormuz after Iran launched missiles and drones targeting oil tankers and U.S. military facilities in Kuwait and Bahrain, marking day 100 of escalating Iran-US tensions.
