Iran war impact hits Kuwait and Qatar hardest as Gulf economies diverge

August 4, 2026
3 min read

Kuwait and Qatar face the sharpest downturn among Gulf states as the Iran war disrupts energy exports through the Strait of Hormuz.
The Arab Monetary Fund forecasts Kuwait to contract 2.9 percent and Qatar 5.9 percent in 2026.
Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Oman and Bahrain keep growing, helped by pipelines that bypass Hormuz and larger non-oil sectors.
The report projects a sharp regional rebound in 2027.

The Iran war impact has fallen unevenly across the Gulf, and two economies are absorbing the worst of it. Kuwait and Qatar are forecast to contract this year, while their neighbors keep growing at a slower pace. The Arab Monetary Fund (AMF), a regional lender based in Abu Dhabi, laid out the split in an 80-page report on Arab economies.

Why Kuwait and Qatar sit most exposed

Both countries depend almost entirely on the Strait of Hormuz to ship their hydrocarbons. The strait is the narrow sea passage that connects the Gulf to global buyers. It carries more than a fifth of the world’s traded oil. When conflict between Iran and the United States disrupted the route, Gulf oil exports from these two states had few alternatives. Oil and gas earnings make up more than two-thirds of government revenue in Kuwait and Qatar, according to their governments. That concentration left little room to cushion the blow. Unlike Saudi Arabia and the UAE, neither state can route cargoes through a pipeline that reaches the sea beyond Hormuz.

Qatar holds the world’s third largest proven gas reserves. The Strait of Hormuz closure has cut off most of its Qatar LNG exports, the shipments of liquefied natural gas that anchor its economy. Iranian missile and drone strikes on Qatari energy sites added to the damage.

How the Iran war impact splits the GCC

The wider Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) has fared better. Saudi Arabia and the UAE run large non-oil sectors, and each operates a pipeline that carries crude around Hormuz. Those routes kept their shipments moving. Oman drew the least harm because its main export terminals sit outside the strait. Bahrain leans little on crude sales, since its oil resources are limited.

The AMF growth forecast puts numbers on the gap. For 2026, it projects Saudi Arabia to expand 3.2 percent, Oman 2.9 percent, the UAE 1.7 percent and Bahrain 1.4 percent. Kuwait is set to contract 2.9 percent and Qatar 5.9 percent.

“Qatar and Kuwait are affected by the crisis more than the other GCC countries because their non-oil economies are not very big and they are almost completely dependent on Hormuz for their hydrocarbon exports,” said Jamal Banoun, manager of the Saudi SMS economic consultancy centre.

Kuwait economy under strain

The Kuwait economy shows clear signs of pressure. Repeated Iranian strikes have hit the country. To cover the gap, it has raised borrowing from both local and foreign markets, a step that points to a worsening cash position. The Iran war impact here reaches beyond lost sales and into public finances.

A rebound projected for 2027

The same report expects the region to recover quickly next year. Its GCC growth forecast for 2027 shows Saudi Arabia at 4.2 percent, the UAE at 9.8 percent, Qatar at 5.5 percent, Kuwait at 6 percent, Oman at 3.1 percent and Bahrain at 2.9 percent. Those figures assume the disruption eases and trade routes reopen.

For now, the Iran war impact continues to divide a region often treated as one bloc. Access to open water, not oil wealth alone, is deciding which economies hold up.

Lease Your iPhone: How Apple’s New Klarna-Backed Upgrade Program Works

You can now lease your iPhone the way you might rent a car, one steady payment at a time. Apple opened its new leasing program, Apple Upgrade, across the United States on July 28. The service runs through a partnership with Klarna, the buy now, pay later firm. To lease your iPhone, you pass a soft credit check that leaves your score alone. Sign up online, in the Apple Store app, or at a retail store.

What the Apple Upgrade program covers

The plan reaches most of Apple’s current lineup. Think iPhone 17 models, the iPhone Air, newer Apple Watches, Macs, and iPads. iPhones and Apple Watches carry 12- or 24-month terms. Macs and iPads run on 24- or 36-month terms. Cheaper gear sits outside the deal, including the iPhone 16, the base iPad, the Apple Watch SE, and the MacBook Neo. The Apple Klarna partnership handles billing, and you watch every payment inside the Klarna app.

The real iPhone lease cost breakdown. Here is where you read the fine print. When you lease your iPhone, the entry price sounds small at $17.99 a month. A premium model tells a different story. An unlocked iPhone 17 Pro runs $31.99 a month over 24 months, or $45.99 over 12. That 12-month total comes to $551.88, still under the $1,099 shelf price. The iPhone lease cost climbs fast once you pick a high-end phone. Apple says you never pay more than the full list price during a term, taxes and damage fees aside. AppleCare is a separate bill now, so add it to your sum. Trade in an old device and the Apple Upgrade program trims your monthly payment.

How to lease your iPhone and what comes next

Knowing how to lease an iPhone is the easy part. The choice at the finish line matters more. After your term ends, three roads appear. One lets you pay a one-time fee and keep the phone. Another sends it back with nothing owed. The third swaps it for a newer model on a fresh lease. Miss a payment, and Klarna rolls it into the next month with no late fee, though three missed months end the deal. You need to be at least 18 and hold a Klarna account to qualify.

Why Apple built this now

The timing is not an accident. Electronics prices are climbing, pushed by a memory chip shortage Apple has already cited for iPad and Mac price hikes. People hold their phones longer too, with the average American keeping one for 22 months, per a Reviews.org survey. A foldable iPhone is expected in September, and it could be Apple’s priciest handset yet. Leasing moves your focus from a big sticker price to a low monthly figure.

Francisco Jeronimo, an analyst at International Data Corporation, put it plainly. “Apple Upgrade lands at precisely the moment Apple needs it,” he said. My read is simple. The old iPhone Upgrade Program steered you toward a single device. This one wants your whole Apple habit on a subscription. Over four years, leasing a fresh phone every two years can cost hundreds more than buying one outright. Before you lease your iPhone, weigh what always owning the newest model costs you.

By Fatima Al-Nouri
3 min read

Tourism

Tourists Drop $6B on Food in Turkiye as Dining Leads Tourism Spending

Tourists spent close to $6B on food in Turkiye in the first six months of 2026, and dining now stands as the largest single category of visitor spending in the country. Figures from the Turkish Statistical Institute, known as TurkStat, put food and drink spending at $5.9 billion between January and June. That total ran about 9% above the $5.43 billion recorded over the same stretch a year earlier.

The wider picture helps explain why this number matters. Türkiye tourism revenue 2026 reached $25.75 billion across the first half, and food carried a larger share of that figure than any other category. The pattern fits a longer shift in how the country earns from travel. Visitors are spending more at the table, and regional cuisine has become a direct source of income rather than a background detail.

Why food leads $6B in Turkiye

Turkey food and beverage spending climbed as travelers worked through a broad menu of local dishes. Doner, pide, lahmacun and home-style cooking drew steady demand across different parts of the country. Each region offers its own version of these staples, which gives repeat visitors a reason to keep eating out.

The rise in dining revenue tracks the amount visitors put toward regional food while traveling. TurkStat tourism data shows the category holding its lead through the period, a sign that culinary interest is now a fixed part of the trip for many arrivals rather than an occasional expense.

Shopping follows food in visitor spending

Retail took the next large share of tourist spending in Turkey. International visitors spent roughly $2.2 billion on clothing and footwear during the first half of the year. Souvenir purchases brought in a further $890.2 million over the same window.

Together, clothing and souvenirs added about $3.1 billion to the total. That places shopping well behind dining but ahead of the smaller categories, and it points to a spending mix weighted toward food and personal goods.

Smaller categories round out the total

Some categories stayed below the billion-dollar mark. Revenue from sports, education and cultural activities came to nearly $249 million between January and June. Spending grouped under other categories added about $618 million to Türkiye tourism income in the first half.

The gap between these figures and the near $6B on food in Turkiye shows how concentrated visitor spending has become. Dining alone accounts for close to a quarter of the country’s total tourism revenue for the period. For a sector that once leaned on accommodation and sightseeing, the strength in food marks a real change in where the money lands. The trend also gives regional restaurants and local producers a steady flow of foreign currency, tying the wider tourism economy more closely to what visitors choose to eat.

By Adnan Al-Jaziri
3 min read

GCC Economy