The Gulf Cooperation Council states will shift their economic strategies to domestic and core regional interests as a result of the Iran war, with a renewed focus on domestic infrastructure, safety nets and strategies for comparative advantage to help them recover some of the attractiveness lost during the war. This is likely to impact international investments, long-term domestic projects and reshape their economic links. GCC member states face varying degrees of economic impacts from the closure of the Strait of Hormuz and accompanying Iran war that began Feb. 28. According to Goldman Sachs forecasts, a two-month closure could cause loss of up to 14% GDP for Qatar and Kuwait and 3-5% GDP for Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates in 2026. However, such estimates are preliminary and do not fully account for potential future damage to regional infrastructure, the possibility of food and fuel shocks pushing up the costs...
