U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Friday that the United States needed Iran to "come to the table" for negotiations, amid rising tensions between Washington and Tehran in the Gulf that have impacted global oil markets.

Lockheed Martin was awarded a $1.48 billion contract to build the THAAD missile defense system for Saudi Arabia, bringing the total value of the deal to $5.36 billion, the Pentagon said on Friday.

ran said it had seized a British oil tanker in the Strait of Hormuz on Friday but denied Washington’s assertion that the U.S. Navy had downed an Iranian drone nearby this week, as tensions in the Gulf region rose again.

The acting U.S. defense secretary has authorized the deployment of U.S. military personnel and resources to Saudi Arabia, the Pentagon said on Friday, adding the move would provide “an additional deterrent” in the face of “emergent, credible threats.”

Saudi Arabia’s King Salman approved hosting U.S. forces in the country to boost regional security and stability, the state news agency (SPA) reported on Friday.

The Al-Wefaq National Islamic Society called on observers inside and outside Bahrain to consider seriously and responsibly the information and testimonies mentioned in "What is Hidden is Worse" program, broadcast by Al-Jazeera Channel, which represent a betrayal of the country and show coordination and arrangements with very dangerous terrorist forces.

US Middle East Peace Envoy Jason Greenblatt revealed via his Twitter account that a meeting was held between the Bahraini Minister of Foreign Affairs Khalid bin Ahmed Al Khalifa and his Israeli counterpart Katz in Washington.

The United States announced that Israel will participate in a conference hosted by Bahrain in February that will discuss the requirements of securing maritime navigation in the Gulf region.

Minister of Foreign Affairs Khalid bin Ahmed bin Mohammed Al Khalifa met US President's Senior Advisor Jared Kushner in Washington.

Prime Minister Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa issued Edict 11/2019 stipulating the restructuring of the four governorates executive councils.

Vice President Mike Pence on Thursday urged Saudi Arabia to free Raif Badawi, a blogger jailed and publicly whipped for insulting Islam, in a rare criticism of the US ally as he vowed to champion religious freedom worldwide.

Iran's Revolutionary Guards said Thursday they had detained a "foreign tanker" and its 12 crew for allegedly smuggling fuel, the latest incident in a tense standoff in the Gulf.

Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz on Thursday announced that he had met his Bahrain counterpart publicly during a visit to Washington, the first meeting between the two countries that do not have diplomatic relations.

United Nations aid chief Mark Lowcock called out Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates on Thursday for only paying a "modest proportion" of the hundreds of millions of dollars they pledged five months ago to a humanitarian appeal for Yemen.

Iran is determined to "leave all doors open" to save its 2015 nuclear deal with major powers, Iranian state TV quoted President Hassan Rouhani as saying in a telephone call with his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron on Thursday.

The Pentagon said on Thursday that the USS Boxer took defensive action against a drone after it came within a "threatening range" in the Strait of Hormuz.

The Bahraini Ministry of Information Affairs wanted to make things better, but it ended up making them way worse, after it failed to refute the information mentioned in “What is Hidden is Worse” program aired on Al Jazeera channel and come up with a coherent narrative.

Bahraini government loyalists are bragging about how the people are allegedly united in confronting “What is Hidden is Worse” program aired by Al Jazeera channel.

The High Civilian Court forced the Bahrain Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCI) to pay its former CEO 15,349 BD compensation for his arbitrary dismissal and rejected all the other compensation requests.

US special envoy to Iran Brian Hawke said that 65 countries will discuss Bahrain's Gulf maritime security, without setting a date to the meeting or revealing identities of participating countries.