July 27, 2026
To Understand the Middle East’s Future, Follow the Cranes
This article was originally published in The National Interest.
The US-Iran War has demonstrated an unexpected paradox. As Iranian missiles struck Ras Laffan—the world’s largest LNG complex and Qatari economy’s crown jewel—Qatari companies and investment funds were laying the groundwork to rebuild Syria’s energy infrastructure. At the same time, as Iranian drones targeted the UAE’s airports, seaports, data centers, and energy facilities, the country’s minister of foreign trade was in Damascus inaugurating the first post-Assad UAE-Syria investment forum, announcing new direct flights, real estate projects, and energy investments.
The Middle East exemplifies the reality that control of infrastructure has always meant more than commerce. That competition is already underway. Follow the cranes.
Ironically, even as Iran struck critical infrastructure across the Gulf, Qatar, the UAE, and Saudi Arabia were committing billions of dollars to rebuild countries that Iran-backed actors helped destroy. With the Strait of Hormuz effectively closed and the ceasefire in tatters, the United States was working to revive a long-defunct pipeline that would carry Iraqi oil overland through Syria to the Mediterranean, explicitly to reduce reliance on the Strait of Hormuz.
Read the full article in The National Interest.
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