The financial cost of the Iran war already reached approximately $37.5 billion in direct Pentagon expenditures, with broader economic impact estimates running much higher. The Gulf states are losing faith in the high-cost US protection. The air defence systems across the Gulf have been forced into continuous, high-cost activation to intercept incoming Iranian military threats. As the US-Iran war escalated, it exposed that hosting US military assets made Gulf states highly vulnerable to heavy Iranian drone and missile strikes. Qatar is leading efforts to build a localized regional security and economic framework directly with Iran to restore stability.