Aurea

TRUMP-NETANYAHU WAR AGAINST IRAN: IS ENGULFING THE GLOBAL ECONOMY. When Trump embarked on this war against Iran, he exposed his Gulf partners to unprecedented attacks, & disturbed the flows that are the lifeblood of the global economy.(FP)

Far from just another war in the Persian Gulf, this is the first conflict since the Second World War to directly impact cities & facilities that serve as hubs in the globalized economy. (FP)

To understand the Gulf’s importance in the global economy, one should trace the flows of commodities, goods, services, capital, & people. The impact of the war on these flows gives this conflict a truly global dimension. (FP)

According to an analysis by data firm Kpler, around one-third of the world’s supply of crude oil, methanol, & fertilizer & near one-fifth of the world’s liquid natural gas (LNG) & natural gas derivatives such as butane and propane are exported through the Strait of Hormuz.(FP)

Most ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz are container ships that connect the Gulf economies to global supply chains. When the US invaded Iraq in 2003, the annual throughput at Dubai’s Jebel Ali port was the equivalent of around 5 million shipping containers. (FP)

Currently, throughput has tripled at Dubai’s Jebel Ali, making it one of the 10 most active container ports in the world, boasting greater utilization than any single port in the US or Europe, with connections to more than 150 ports worldwide.(FP)

The port is an engine of globalization, especially as represented by the expansion of Chinese exports. Today, Jebel Ali’s free zone hosts more than 500 Chinese companies, a figure that has doubled in the past five years. (FP)

The Gulf states have also emerged as a hub for global aviation. The airports in the region, especially Dubai & Doha, are among the busiest & best-connected in the world. (FP)

Two-thirds of the world’s population lives within the radius of an eight-hour flight of the Gulf's hubs. Alongside the passenger traffic, the Gulf’s airports are also vital connectors for airfreight, handling around 10 % of global volume.(FP)

The rose flows of energy & goods passing through the Gulf economies required the buildup of the regions’ service sector, which now includes a dominant & systemically important banking sector. Total commercial bank deposits in the GCC reached $2.3 trillion last year. (FP)

Dubai is also a center for nonbanking financial institutions & exchange houses that process remittances.The city also handles 15 % of the world’s gold trade. This makes Dubai systemically important for a range of underbanked economies in South Asia & Africa. (FP)

The rise of sophisticated commercial banks in the GCC has also facilitated the flow of international capital through the region. (FP)

While the region’s capital markets remain small, cities as Dubai, Abu Dhabi, & Doha play an outsized role as destinations for investment by high-net-worth individuals from key geographies, including the wider Middle East, Europe, Central Asia, & Africa.(FP)

Nothing symbolizes this unique role more than the fact that even Trump has direct interests in Dubai real estate. The Trump International Hotel & Tower, the first of a series of developments planned by the Trump Organization in the region, is under construction in Dubai.(FP)

The Gulf states have also advanced their geopolitical aims by leveraging outward direct investment. The region’s seven main sovereign wealth funds accounted for 43 % of all capital invested by state-owned investors globally in 2025, tallying $126 billion in total outflows. (FP)

Among last year’s deals was a major investment by the Qatar Investment Authority into Jared Kushner’s investment firm.(FP)

The war jeopardizes all these flows. Production has been disrupted at key energy facilities. Vessel traffic through the Strait of Hormuz was just one-fifth of its normal levels on Sunday. (FP)

More than 70 % of all flights to the UAE, Qatar, & Bahrain remained canceled as of Monday. Stock prices in Qatar and Saudi Arabia have slid, while exchanges in the UAE & Kuwait suspended trading. The Dubai gold market is throttled.(FP)

There is little sign that Trump has a plan to manage the numerous shocks on the horizon, let alone a clear understanding of how those shocks will materialize should the war continue in the coming weeks.(FP)

Reflecting on the rise of international trade & finance, former U.S. Pres. Woodrow Wilson once stated that the “effects of war can no longer be confined to the areas of battle. "(FP)

Woodrow Wilson insisted that “whatever is done to disturb the whole world’s life must first be tested in the court of the whole world’s opinion before it is attempted.” SOURCE: The Iran War Is Jeopardizing the Entire Global Economy, in Foreign Policy, by Esfandyar Batmanghelidj.

Woodrow Wilson insisted that “whatever is done to disturb the whole world’s life must first be tested in the court of the whole world’s opinion before it is attempted.” SOURCE: The Iran War Is Jeopardizing the Entire Global Economy, in Foreign Policy, by Esfandyar Batmanghelidj.

Reflecting on the rise of international trade & finance, former U.S. Pres. Woodrow Wilson once stated that the “effects of war can no longer be confined to the areas of battle. "(FP)

There is little sign that Trump has a plan to manage the numerous shocks on the horizon, let alone a clear understanding of how those shocks will materialize should the war continue in the coming weeks.(FP)

More than 70 % of all flights to the UAE, Qatar, & Bahrain remained canceled as of Monday. Stock prices in Qatar and Saudi Arabia have slid, while exchanges in the UAE & Kuwait suspended trading. The Dubai gold market is throttled.(FP)

The war jeopardizes all these flows. Production has been disrupted at key energy facilities. Vessel traffic through the Strait of Hormuz was just one-fifth of its normal levels on Sunday. (FP)

Among last year’s deals was a major investment by the Qatar Investment Authority into Jared Kushner’s investment firm.(FP)

The Gulf states have also advanced their geopolitical aims by leveraging outward direct investment. The region’s seven main sovereign wealth funds accounted for 43 % of all capital invested by state-owned investors globally in 2025, tallying $126 billion in total outflows. (FP)

Nothing symbolizes this unique role more than the fact that even Trump has direct interests in Dubai real estate. The Trump International Hotel & Tower, the first of a series of developments planned by the Trump Organization in the region, is under construction in Dubai.(FP)

While the region’s capital markets remain small, cities as Dubai, Abu Dhabi, & Doha play an outsized role as destinations for investment by high-net-worth individuals from key geographies, including the wider Middle East, Europe, Central Asia, & Africa.(FP)