▶️Mediterranean and Middle East Special Group Chairpersons and Members
GSM Director: Brynja Huld Oskarsdottir | GSM Officer: Matthew Jablonski
Looking ahead to 2026
Building on its ongoing work and recent seminar outputs, the Mediterranean and Middle East Special Group will advance a new report in 2026. The abstract below outlines the planned areas of focus and the key issues that will guide GSM’s work in the year ahead. ↓
GSM Report: Securing Key Maritime Chokepoints and Undersea Critical Infrastructure in the MENA Region
By Rachid Temal (France)
The Red Sea, Eastern Mediterranean, and Persian Gulf form an increasingly continuous strategic space across the wider Middle East, where national security, energy flows, and economic resilience are tightly interconnected. Recent crises and conflicts have exposed underlying fragilities and demonstrated how localised shocks reverberate across these interlinked waterways, disrupting European supply chains, straining energy security, and testing political cohesion. This vulnerability is amplified by the concentration of risk in critical chokepoints such as the Strait of Hormuz, Bab al-Mandeb, and the Suez Canal, where even limited disruptions can generate disproportionate global consequences.
This dynamic has been sharpened by the effects of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. As Russia’s position in the Black Sea has deteriorated, it has shifted its focus toward the Eastern Mediterranean, with infrastructure in Tartus and at Khmeimim Air Base emerging as critical nodes for logistics, intelligence, and energy-adjacent operations. At the same time, Iran has systematically leveraged both direct capabilities and proxy networks to destabilise the regional maritime order and threaten freedom of navigation. This report argues that the maritime domain has emerged as the principal arena in which geopolitical competition, proxy conflict, and economic coercion converge on NATO’s Southern Flank and therefore demands a unified, theatre-wide strategic approach from NATO Allies and partner states.
The full report will be published following its adoption at the Annual Session.
For a deeper understanding of the GSM’s recent policy work, explore the 2025 report below. ↓
