The Middle East may be at a turning point. For the first time in decades, Gulf cities such as Dubai and Doha face risks to their economic stability, which depends on access to global markets and steady trade. Airspace restrictions and regional conflict have forced airlines to reroute or ground flights. Foreign investors are now questioning the region’s investment safety.The war is challenging the Gulf states’ economic model, developed over the past 20 years.Dubai, Doha, and Manama were built on the expectation that regional stability would attract global investment despite ongoing political tensions. This premise is now in serious jeopardy. Airports operate at reduced capacity, airlines have moved aircraft for security, and Bahrain has reportedly stationed civilian planes abroad as a safeguard.For decades, US military bases in the Gulf deterred Iran and protected Washington’s allies. But the war has now raised a pressing question: Have these bases become part of the security problem they aimed to solve?To understand what is happening now, we need to look back to 2020, when US President Donald Trump ordered the killing of Iranian Revolutionary Guard commander Qassem Soleimani in Baghdad. This event marked a turning point in the conflict between Washington and Tehran.This strike made Iran’s leaders significantly more …
