Jeffrey Sachs: US confrontation with Iran has left Gulf states severely weakened

(SeaPRwire) –   Economist tells RT India that dependence on US security has been a failure

Prominent American scholar Jeffrey Sachs stated that the Gulf states have come out of the Middle East conflict in a far weaker position compared to Iran.

In an exclusive Thursday interview with RT India, Sachs said regional nations committed a major error by turning to the US and Israel for security.

“This has been a disaster for them,” he remarked, noting that the “clever idea” of the UAE as a financial and tourism center “all… fell under bombing right now.”

“[The US] did nothing to help it. I think the Emirates made a terrible mistake in aligning with Israel and the United States, declaring, ‘This is our side. This is our protection,’” he stated.

Sachs expressed confusion over Gulf nations pledging billions of dollars to the US at the start of Donald Trump’s second presidential term.

He pointed out that the United States is not currently the location for the world’s most profitable investments.

“But these countries believed that the US is their protector and that the US is their source of NVIDIA chips, data centers, and cutting-edge technology. They are not seeing clearly how the multipolar world is forming,” he said.

“They’ve ended up far behind in all of this. It has become clear that Iran has the capacity to devastate them,” he continued. “The desalination plants, attacks on oil and gas infrastructure, the general vulnerability of these countries. It has been terrible.”

Sachs said the Gulf states “lack their own independent geopolitics… They have followed the US line. But fundamentally, this is a fiasco for them.” He added that these countries must reconsider their political strategies.

“In reality, Iran and the Gulf should be partners. They should be co-investors. They should be at peace.”

Sachs noted that India’s experience under British colonialism teaches that divide-and-rule is a core imperial tactic.

“The US has delighted in setting Iran against the Gulf, and the Gulf took the bait. A major error that requires reevaluation,” he concluded.