Major Gulf economies including Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Qatar are reviewing their investment commitments and contracts with the United States as the ongoing Iran war places growing
pressure on their economies, according to a report by the Financial Times.
Citing Gulf officials, the report said several countries have quietly begun internal discussions to examine whether force majeure clauses can be invoked in existing contracts. They are also reviewing future investment pledges in order to reduce the economic strain caused by the conflict.
“A number of Gulf countries have begun an internal review to determine whether force majeure clauses can be invoked in current contracts, while also reviewing current and future investment commitments,” a Gulf official told the Financial Times.
The review could affect a wide range of commitments, including investment pledges to foreign governments and companies, sports sponsorship deals, contracts with global businesses and even the sale of certain holdings, the report said.
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The move comes as the war between the US, Israel and Iran continues to disrupt the Gulf region’s economic stability. Energy revenues have fallen sharply, while shipping through the Strait of Hormuz — through which roughly a fifth of the world’s oil and gas passes — has slowed dramatically after several tankers were hit during the conflict.
Tourism and aviation sectors have also taken a hit after Iranian strikes targeted US bases, embassies and infrastructure across the region.
According to the Financial Times, rising defence spending and reduced energy exports have placed additional strain on government budgets in the Gulf. An adviser to a regional government told the newspaper that the possibility of reviewing overseas investments has already caught the attention of the White House.
The Gulf states manage some of the world’s largest sovereign wealth funds and had pledged hundreds of billions of dollars in investments in the US following a visit by US President Donald Trump to the region last year.
Any slowdown in those investments could increase pressure on Washington to seek a diplomatic solution to end the war, the report noted.
Meanwhile, criticism of the conflict has also emerged from prominent voices within the Gulf business community.
Just a day ago, Dubai-based billionaire Khalaf Ahmad Al Habtoor had condemned the war, questioning the decision to strike Iran and warning that the conflict has placed Gulf countries “at the heart of a danger they did not choose”.
سيادة الرئيس دونالد ترامب،
سؤال مباشر: من أعطاك القرار لزجّ منطقتنا في حرب مع #إيران؟ وعلى أي أساس اتخذت هذا القرار الخطير؟
هل حسبتَ الأضرار الجانبية قبل أن تضغط على الزناد؟ وهل فكّرت أن أول من سيتضرر من هذا التصعيد هي دول المنطقة!
من حق شعوب هذه المنطقة أن تسأل أيضاً: هل كان…
— Khalaf Ahmad Al Habtoor (@KhalafAlHabtoor) March 5, 2026
“Who gave you the authority to drag our region into a war with #Iran? And on what basis did you make this dangerous decision? Did you calculate the collateral damage before pulling the trigger? And did you consider that the first to suffer from this escalation will be the countries of the region itself!,” Habtoor directly asked Trump in a post on X.
