Fixing the oil crisis might not fix the Persian Gulf

The Indicator from Planet Money

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Business

4.7 • 9.5K Ratings

🗓️ 16 April 2026

⏱️ 9 minutes

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Summary

If the Strait of Hormuz completely reopens, it still might not be enough to restart the economies in the Persian Gulf. Many countries there have been hammered by the oil crisis. And although allowing ships through would stanch the immediate bloodletting in the energy sector, other sectors might not spring back so quickly. Tourists are visiting less. Property markets are at risk.

On today’s show, we survey the economic damage to countries in the Gulf. And try to get a sense of the long-term economic implications.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	NPR.
0:02.0	This is the indicator from Planet Money.
0:13.4	I'm Patty Hirsch.
0:14.5	And I'm Waylon Wong.
0:15.5	The war with Iran has been devastating for Iran and the Iranian people.
0:20.5	But it's not just Iran that's been
0:22.4	affected. The fallout from the war has hammered the global economy, and it's becoming
0:27.3	potentially ruinous for all of Iran's neighbors in the Persian Gulf. Oil and gas revenues are
0:32.6	the most obvious part of this story, of course. They account for more than 90 percent of government
0:36.9	income in Iraq, and anywhere between 40 than 90% of government income in Iraq,
0:38.1	and anywhere between 40 and 90% of government revenues in the Gulf Cooperation Council or GCC countries.
0:44.8	I'm going to list them by physical size now, Wailing, if you don't mind. Saudi Arabia,
0:49.6	Oman and the UAE, those are the big ones. And Kuwait, Qatar, and tiny but still economically very powerful, Bahrain.
0:57.2	I like that geography lesson.
0:58.6	It's helpful.
0:59.9	They have all had their energy exports choked off by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz.
1:05.1	But the war has affected more than just oil and gas.
1:08.3	And it's the damage to non-energy sectors, tourism, real estate, finance,
1:13.0	that represents a real long-term threat to these economies. Yes, on today's show, we'll look at the
1:20.6	entire picture of economic damage to the Gulf Nations. That's coming up after the break.
1:30.5	On the face of it, the war in Iran has been devastating for all of the countries that border
1:35.1	the Persian Gulf. Periodic oil shocks over the years have persuaded these nations to
	...

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