“I have a big decision to make,” Trump said. “Will a deal be made with Iran that lets them rebuild and create a far greater country than it ever was before? Or do I annihilate the Islamic Republic and do it quickly?” 

The President has spoken before about the “decapitation” of Iran and that the country would be “decimated”, and this appears to be the latest attempt at threatening Iran back to the negotiating table and ending the conflict.  

There is frustration in the White House that the war continues, with Iran launching attacks on its neighbors and the Strait of Hormuz still compromised. 

The latest salvo will add to fears in the Gulf that the conflict, which started in February, is far from over. 

Ahead of their planned meeting with Trump on the sidelines of UNGA, Bloomberg reported that the Gulf states were looking to urge the U.S. President to avoid any further escalation of hostilities.  

Qatar’s Emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, also took to the podium at this year’s UNGA to call for renewed diplomacy to resolve the conflict.  

“We remain deeply convinced that the crisis in the Gulf can be resolved through diplomatic means,” he told the assembly, which is expected to feature nearly 130 heads of state. He added that the Gulf is experiencing “one of the most dangerous phases” in its history.  

During his meeting with Gulf states, the U.S. President said that special envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner had held a “very productive” three-hour meeting with the Iranian delegation, which included Iran’s foreign minister Abbas Araghchi. It marks the first direct U.S.-Iran talks since June when a 60-day Memorandum of Understanding was signed.  

“We’ll see what happens with that,” Trump said. “But I think there’s a lot of momentum for them to make a deal—that’s what we’re hearing from everybody.” 

Al Jazeera’s English channel reported that the meeting had discussed possible conditions for resuming negotiations to end the conflict and to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, but said it produced no breakthroughs. Another meeting is expected in the near future.  

While a diplomatic resolution remains the top priority for Gulf leaders, analysts told The New York Times that they are also likely to ask Trump for hardened security guarantees.  

The Houthis’ rapid advance along Yemen’s western coast over the past fortnight has opened a second front in the Middle East conflict, enabling them to seize territory near the Bab al-Mandab Strait, which Saudi Arabia has relied on as a vital bypass route since the blockade on Hormuz.   

Last week, the Trump administration said it had approved the sale of 48 F-35 fighter jets to Saudi Arabia in a deal estimated at $24.3 billion.  

Saudi Arabia’s crown prince has reportedly urged Trump to take military action against the Houthis, according to CBS News, but the U.S. President has so far declined to do so.  

The U.S. Congress has 30 days to scrutinize the deal. If approved, it would make the kingdom only the second country in the Middle East, alongside Israel, to operate the advanced stealth fighters.  

Melissa Hancock

You may notice the newsletter looks a little different this week, following a few small design updates. Everything else remains the same, but if you have suggestions for improvement, drop me an email.

And as ever, thanks for reading, and do keep in touch with your thoughts and ideas.
melissa.hancock@fortune.com 

Qatar strikes $20 billion alliance with J.P. Morgan and steps up its focus on domestic assets  

Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund is making big moves on two fronts.  

On Tuesday, the Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) announced a $20 billion partnership with J.P. Morgan’s asset management arm that will span public and private markets across equities and credit.  

The partnership will initially focus on two key areas of collaboration: a $15 billion public equities mandate designed to support QIA’s long-term investment objectives, and a $5 billion private markets investment initiative focused on supporting established U.S. middle-market companies across a range of sectors, with a particular focus on industrials, services, healthcare, and technology. 

The partnership follows a series of major tie-ups over the past year with other finance heavyweights, including Goldman Sachs and Brookfield. 

The news followed the QIA’s announcement on Monday that it was creating a new division, Doha Investment, to manage and increase the size of its domestic portfolio.  

The division will initially oversee 45 state-owned enterprises that represent roughly one-third of the wealth fund's total assets, estimated at $580 billion, according to Global SWF, a data platform that tracks sovereign wealth funds.  

Doha Investment will also be charged with strengthening and building new national champions, supporting privatization, widening private-sector participation, and diversifying Qatar's economy.  

Established in 2005, with an initial mandate focused on deploying capital internationally, the QIA quickly made a name for itself around the world by snapping up trophy assets such as Harrod’s, as well as major corporate stakes in Volkswagen, Glencore and Canary Wharf.  

While plans for the new division were set in motion before the start of the Iran-U.S. war, its launch comes as the Gulf state has seen its finances squeezed by the ongoing blockade of the Strait of Hormuz.  

Before the ⁠war, Qatar supplied about one-fifth of the world’s daily LNG, but its LNG exports have dropped by 96% compared with a year ago, according to data intelligence firm, ICIS.  

Gulf funds “go large” on $111 billion Paramount-Warner merger 

The U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has approved plans for Gulf sovereign wealth funds to exceed the foreign ownership cap in the proposed $111 billion Paramount-Skydance-Warner Bros. Discovery merger. 

U.S. regulations prevent foreign investors from owning more than 25% of a company that has a U.S. broadcast license unless the FCC approves it. 

Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), the UAE’s L’imad Holding Company and the Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) are expected to hold a combined 38.5% economic interest in the proposed new entity.  

The trio of funds has reportedly committed a combined $24 billion to help finance Paramount’s $111 billion acquisition of Warner, thereby providing around half of the $47 billion in equity financing for the transaction.  

In doing so, the funds will gain exposure to Warner Bros., HBO, CNN, CBS and Paramount Pictures, bringing together entertainment companies, news organizations and regulated U.S. broadcasters. 

But their sizeable capital investment will not confer any control, with restrictions applying to voting, governance, management, and content decisions.  

The Ellison family and New York-headquartered RedBird Capital Partners, which previously invested $1.8 billion in Paramount and Skydance, will retain 100% of the voting rights.  

Even so, the approval is the latest striking example of the growing reach of Gulf sovereign capital into global cultural institutions.  

In July, RedBird IMI—a joint venture between RedBird Capital Partners and Abu Dhabi’s International Media Investments (IMI)—and Banijay Group completed the $8 billion merger of Banijay Entertainment and All3Media. 

IMI, a private investment company controlled by Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the UAE’s vice president and deputy prime minister, is one of the country’s leading media investors. 

The new entity, which will operate under the name Banijay Entertainment, will be the world’s largest independent production company, spanning 25 countries and encompassing more than 170 production and live-events companies.   

The merger is expected to help put the UAE at the center of the next chapter in global content creation.  

Speaking exclusively to Fortune at the time, Jeff Zucker, CEO of RedBird IMI said: “The UAE has been a fantastic investor, a great shareholder…and they’re willing to take chances on the global stage.”  

Elon Musk was just the start as the UAE goes interstellar with its space satellite ambitions  

The UAE’s space ambitions received a $1 billion boost last week when Abu Dhabi’s satellite operator Space42 and U.S. communications company Viasat announced they were joining forces to create a platform called Equatys. It will connect smartphones and other devices directly to satellites.  

Slated to start operating in 2029, the platform will position the UAE at the forefront of efforts to transform communications through space-based infrastructure. 

Equatys will initially comprise fewer than 200 satellites, with plans to expand the constellation to 2,800 over several years to provide connectivity for people around the globe.  

Space42 told The National last week that “the opportunity is phenomenal”, potentially increasing the number of users of mobile satellite services from the current 10 million to billions worldwide.  

Another Abu Dhabi-backed space infrastructure company, Orbitworks, is currently developing Altair, a planned constellation of 10 AI-enabled Earth observation satellites, with the first spacecraft due to launch next month. 

The Iran-U.S. conflict has reinforced how critical space-based infrastructure has become, particularly around persistent monitoring and geospatial intelligence, secure communications and resilient architectures.  

Last month, the UAE’s telecom regulator granted Elon Musk’s Starlink a 10-year license, noting that this will support critical sectors including maritime and aviation transport, energy, logistics, and emergency response. 

“The focus is becoming where you need control and access, and where partnerships can give you greater scale, driven by a range of economic, technological and geopolitical factors,” Anna Hazlett, founder and CEO of UAE investment and advisory company AzurX, told me.  

You can read my full story here. 

The Big Number

$7 billion 

The estimated amount of money that could flow into domestic Saudi assets from money market funds under new curbs on overseas investments, according to a recent circular from the kingdom’s Capital Market Authority.

The 3 things we enjoyed reading this week

• Hasma Capital Advisors, the investment firm overseeing a multibillion-dollar portfolio for members of Saudi Arabia’s Juffali family, is moving most of its staff from London to Dubai. Over the past century, E.A. Juffali & Brothers has grown into one of the Gulf’s largest and most prominent business groups, building partnerships with global brands including IBM, Massey Ferguson, Bosch, and Michelin. It’s the latest example of how, despite heightened geopolitical uncertainty amid the Iran war, Dubai continues to attract wealthy families and their investment offices.  

   

• The Trump administration has proposed contributing $5 billion to a new fund—dubbed the Partnership for Allied Trust and Construction (Pact)—to help rebuild Gulf energy infrastructure damaged during the Iran war and support alternative oil and gas routes. According to this Wall Street Journal exclusive, Washington is seeking matching contributions from the Gulf states, as well as Iraq and Jordan, to bring the total to $10 billion, with the fund managed by the Development Finance Corporation. Some Middle East officials see the initiative as Washington's attempt to downplay Hormuz's strategic importance.  

   

• Abu Dhabi's Red Dunes Games has gone from sharing a booth in 2023 to hosting one of the largest stands at Tokyo Game Show 2026, showcasing nine titles. Its souq-inspired booth reflects a deliberate push to promote the emirate’s growing gaming industry, while a surprise hit—a revival of the 1990s anime Samurai Pizza Cats—became one of its most anticipated titles after unexpectedly strong interest from Japanese fans.