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US eyes $10bn fund to rebuild war-battered Gulf infrastructure

The Cradle | September 22, 2026

Washington is seeking to funnel $5 billion into a fund to rebuild Persian Gulf energy infrastructure damaged during the seven-month war on Iran and reduce its partners’ reliance on the Strait of Hormuz, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported on 22 September.

The US would seek an equal $5 billion contribution from eight regional allies combined – Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Iraq, and Jordan – bringing the total to $10 billion in a fund named the Partnership for Allied Trust and Construction, or Pact.

US officials said talks on the fund are ongoing and its terms could change. It remains unclear when, or even if, other countries will sign on.

According to WSJ, the proposal tacitly admits that the war has upended global energy markets and destroyed pipelines and refineries across the region that will be costly to rebuild.

Some regional officials said the initiative appeared to be a US attempt to cast the Strait of Hormuz as a less consequential energy route and to present Washington and its allies as united in confronting Iran.

They warned that creating a fund to rebuild destroyed energy sites without a peace deal with Tehran would be premature, as the Islamic Republic could strike any new infrastructure with drones and missiles.

“This strategy has risk written all over it,” said Bilal Saab, senior managing director of consulting firm TRENDS US, noting that Gulf states depend on the strait to differing degrees.

US President Donald Trump threatened to annihilate Iran in his address to the 81st UN General Assembly (UNGA) on 22 September, casting the choice before him as a deal with Tehran or the destruction of the country.

“Will a deal be made with Iran that lets them rebuild and create a far greater country than it ever was before? Or do I annihilate the Islamic Republic, and do it quickly, never giving them a chance to kill and destroy people and countries again?” Trump said.

He dismissed any link between the upcoming US midterm elections and his Iran policy, even as the war on the Islamic Republic and its cascading effects on the US economy drive his plummeting approval ratings, including among Republicans.

September 23, 2026 - Posted by | Economics, Wars for Israel | , ,

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