Which one of the middle east countries are America’s allies? Seven steel and five major aluminum plants in six Arab countries (Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman, and Bahrain), along with one facility in Israel, form the core of the supply chain heavy industries are supported indirectly by the United States.
Some complexes such as Jubail (Saudi Arabia), Messaid (Qatar), Sohar (Oman) and Hidd (Bahrain), reveal the fact that the United States, avoiding direct military or ownership involvement, secures the raw materials such as iron ore, pellets, and even Congolese copper for these factories through its international development finance institution (DFC) and offtake agreements.
One feature of this plan is the interconnectedness of financing funds from Persian Gulf Cooperation (GCC) with U.S indirect interests. For instance, there is the Abu Dhabi Authority (ADQ) in the UAE (now merged into the Limead) along with the Orion Critical Mineral Consortium (OrionMC) with a $600 investment from the DFC, which not only provides critical minerals to these factories but also reduces their dependency on China.
This blended financing model (Capital Co-mingling) has enabled the steel and aluminum industries of America’s regional allies to benefit logistical support, material supply, supply stability without any direct reference to Washington in their ownership.
This study is conducted at Institute for Promoting of Manufacturing Strategic Studies (IPMSS) in 2026.
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