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Blog Post

Iran War Hits Business Conditions in Saudi Arabia and the Gulf

March readings of the purchasing managers’ index showed a substantial deterioration in business conditions in Saudi Arabia and the rest of the Gulf.

Smoke rises above Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, March 5. (REUTERS/Stringer)

When War and Peace Are Just Means, the End Signifies Nothing

For the Gulf Arab countries, the future is more important than the present, but it is unclear if Iran, the United States, and Israel have the same vision.

Smoke rises from Kuwait international airport after a drone strike on fuel storage in Kuwait City, Kuwait, March 25. (AP Photo)

The United States Plus: Gulf States Contemplate Regional Security After Iran War

The imperative for Gulf states to unify their position has grown since the onset of Iranian attacks on their countries. Yet under conditions of uncertainty about the U.S. position and the war's outcome, Gulf states are demonstrating differing regional alignments and preferences for managing the crisis.

A large fire and plume of smoke is visible after the debris of an intercepted Iranian drone hit the Fujairah oil facility, in Fujairah, United Arab Emirates, March 3. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri)

Water and Food Security in a Militarized Gulf

The true economic and societal impact of the conflict may not be driven by headline events alone but by the gradual erosion of the systems that underpin daily life.

A general view of the Saline Water Conversion Corporation in Jubail, Saudi Arabia. (Saline Water Conversion Corporation/Handout via REUTERS)

A Silent Casualty of War: The Rising Risk of Ecocide in the Gulf

In one of the world’s most climate-vulnerable regions, the threat to the environment will extend far beyond the “day after” the war.

Birds fly as smoke rises in the Fujairah oil industry zone following a fire caused by debris after interception of a drone by air defenses, in Fujairah, the United Arab Emirates, March 3. (REUTERS/Amr Alfiky)

Operation Epic Fury and the U.S. Drone Posture in the Gulf

In the conflict with Iran, the United States has used one-way attack drones for the first time, marking a shift in U.S. military drone architecture.

Drones are shown at a display of multidomain autonomous systems in the Pentagon courtyard, in Washington, July 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

China’s Sidelining in the Iran Conflict

The Iran conflict reinforces China’s short-term position as one of managing and mitigating risks rather than shaping outcomes that expand Chinese influence in the Middle East.

A Chinese-flagged oil tanker is moored at an oil terminal at Tsing Yi port in Hong Kong, China, March 19. (REUTERS/Joyce Zhou)

Why Saudi Arabia and the UAE Are Urging Trump to Continue a War They Did Not Want

Riyadh and Abu Dhabi urged President Trump not to attack Iran, but now that the war is into its second month, leaving the current situation in place would be an unthinkable fiasco for them.

A black plume of smoke rises from a warehouse at the industrial area of Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates, March 1. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri)