US proposes $5 billion fund to rebuild Middle East energy infrastructure

The United States has proposed contributing $5 billion to a new fund aimed at financing the reconstruction of energy infrastructure in Middle Eastern countries.

According to The Wall Street Journal (WSJ), the fund would also finance infrastructure designed to reduce the region’s reliance on oil and gas shipments through the Strait of Hormuz.

Under US President Donald Trump’s plan, eight regional partners - Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Iraq and Jordan - would contribute an amount matching the US investment, bringing the fund’s total size to $10 billion. The parties are still discussing the details of the proposed fund, and it remains unclear whether other countries will join.

The initiative is seen as an implicit acknowledgement of the extensive damage caused by the seven-month conflict between the United States and Iran. The fighting has damaged oil refineries and pipelines across the region.

The conflict in the Middle East has now lasted for more than six months. Tehran says it controls the Strait of Hormuz, while Iranian military officials have reported tests of anti-ship missiles and warned of the vulnerability of US assets.

The United States is conducting an air campaign against Iranian targets and maintaining a naval blockade. At the same time, US Central Command chief Admiral Brad Cooper said over the weekend that oil and liquefied natural gas shipments through the Strait of Hormuz had reached their highest level in six months over the past two weeks.