Gulf Insider
The Trump administration has told several Gulf states that they should use American companies to rebuild their infrastructure damaged by Iran’s retaliatory strikes amid the US-Israeli war on the Islamic Republic, US and Arab officials familiar with the discussions told Middle East Eye. Kuwait, Bahrain and the UAE are among the countries the US has tapped as potential customers for US engineering, manufacturing and construction firms, given the extent of damage in their countries, the officials told MEE. Saudi Arabia and Oman have been less impacted by Iranian air strikes. In their talking points, US officials have been emphasizing the economic partnership the Gulf countries share with the US and its importance to reconstruction. A US official told MEE that promoting US companies for Gulf reconstruction was part of the Trump administration’s “America First” foreign policy, which prioritizes economic statecraft. But an Arab official told MEE that the push appeared “a little tone-deaf”, as the Gulf is still wary of a return to fighting and on edge over the US’s commitments to regional security. The Trump administration’s push is not merely symbolic. Rystad Energy estimates the repair costs for energy-linked infrastructure in the Gulf alone could reach as high as $39bn, excluding the damage in Iran. A fragile ceasefire between the US and Iran is holding, […]
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