Yet as dramatic as the new rule is, it will not solve every problem facing Gulf AI buildouts. On the Gulf side, it is not clear whether the economics of sophisticated AI data centers will work while the war continues. Gulf states hoped that these arrangements would position them as the “third epicenter” of AI technology, after the United States and China, as one Saudi-based executive put it. ​There have also been some signs of slackening demand in the region for high-end AI chips. AI Concessions, not AI PolicyThe Trump administration’s decision thus comes at a critical moment for the Gulf.