How long will Gulf States bleed for war on Iran that the United States and Israel are waging? That’s a question a recent Newsweek article posed. According to the reporting, specialists from all six Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states describe a “growing frustration with the U.S. approach to the war with Iran and a perception of Trump prioritizing Israel.”
What The Guardian has called a “ worst nightmare ,” the war has impacted the GCC states, including Saudi Arabia and the UAE, to such a degree that they are consumed with fury as they absorb the shock of a conflict they did not want. The closure of the Strait of Hormuz and the Iranian attacks on energy infrastructure have placed particular pressure on regional economies. For the GCC economies, costs like these don’t have any corresponding political gains . The GCC’s bargain—American bases in exchange for defense and security—doesn’t look quite so beneficial at the moment.
Further, the GCC is a strategic hub of aviation , tourism , and investment , and these industries are suffering because of the war. The Gulf states were aware of the implications before the war started. Once Israeli struck Doha in September without any reaction from the Trump administration, it served as both the “ turning point ” and the writing on the wall.
According to Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim Al Thani , the GCC States were pulled into a losing battle . He has warned of getting dragged into the conflict. At the same time, he points out that “the GCC possesses a radical, unconventional, and highly effective tool to force an end to the hostilities: a collective and complete halt of all oil and gas exports.” GCC Skepticism Israeli tactics, in particular, have escalated the conflict. Israel has attacked, for instance, a desalination facility in Iran and struck 30 oil storage tanks , thus precipitating Iranian and proxy attacks aimed at comparable GCC infrastructure.
As a result, GCC economies have had to suffer the unintended consequences of the war. A huge percentage of the population in the Gulf states depends on desalinated water. The states are now livid over the U.S. posture for its carelessness and an apparent determination to force Iranians to finally dig in their heels and produce a nuke.
Israeli strikes on Iranian political leadership accomplish the same thing. As Jeffrey St. Clair has observed, Israel assassinated Iranian top security official Ali Larijani “to stop any negotiated end of the war and to drag the U.S. deeper into it. In Iran, it will inevitably give more power to the most reactionary forces in the country.”
As Henry Kissinger once said , “To be an enemy of America is dangerous, but to be a friend is fatal.” Not surprisingly, GCC countries have lost trust in the United States and rewinding will be very difficult. The war has impacted interdependence and produced a “ shadow of risk .” Tourism, banking, and data center construction will suffer not only short-term losses but long-term consequences because of the loss of U.S. credibility with its allies in its efforts to satisfy Netanyahu’s military ambitions. Companies like Amazon will not want to build any data centers only to be bombed again inside the year. Standard Chartered Bank recently had to evacuate and asked its Dubai employees to work from home.
The GCC is even questioning the legitimacy of U.S. bases. Even if the war ends soon, America has lost its reputation for providing reliable protection. In essence, GCC security issues of interdependence have only started. GCC Optimism The GCC is now raising some of the same questions as U.S. allies in Europe about the necessity to build an independent security capacity. “The conflict is accelerating the GCC’s push to diversify economic and defense ties away from exclusive reliance on the U.S., reinforcing a shift toward a more multipolar portfolio of partners,” observers Middle East expert Christopher Davidson . “At the same time, Gulf States are not abandoning Washington but are hedging by deepening relations with China, Russia , and other Asian powers in trade, finance, and arms. This reduces U.S. leverage over their economic strategies and nudges the security architecture toward a more transactional, multi‑supplier model .”
Concerning the consequences of Israel’s engagement in the region for GCC economies and regional stability, Davidson notes that, Israel’s military actions, backed by the United States, have generated a perception in the Gulf that the region has been dragged onto the front lines, exposing their economies to shipping risks, higher insurance costs, and political backlash. As a result, the UAE and Bahrain ( which signed the Abraham Accords ) are likely to maintain normalization with Israel but shift toward quieter, less symbolic cooperation to manage domestic opinion and regional relationships, especially with Iran. This more discreet posture aims to preserve strategic benefits from Israel ties while limiting the economic and reputational spillovers of an unpopular war. In terms of the GCC’s economic resilience in the face of intense geopolitical pressure, Davidson adds: The GCC’s strong fundamentals, world‑class infrastructure , large sovereign wealth buffers , and relatively attractive regulatory environments —position their economies to remain resilient. In the long term, if the conflict delays or constrains Iran’s nuclear program, Gulf states could benefit from reduced security risks and more predictable investment conditions. They may also be well placed to capture future reconstruction contracts in Iran , should the regime soften or weaken, leveraging their capital and project‑delivery capacity to turn regional turmoil into opportunity. The war has placed GCC economies under extreme pressure while disrupting global interdependence . The number of war crimes taking place in the conflict is undermining regional stability while producing a loathing toward the United States and Israel. As the war escalates, Gulf States are looking at their strategic interdependence and attempting to diversify beyond the Washington Consensus .
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