Gulf Funds Are Recalibrating American Investments, Including Backing for Paramount Merger, as Iran War Rages On

Gulf sovereign wealth funds are reassessing major American investments — including their backing for the Paramount Skydance–Warner Brothers Discovery merger — as the Iran war forces a political and financial recalibration, according to people familiar with high-level deliberations. Wealth funds connected to Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates had pledged $24 billion to support the near $111 billion media deal announced February 27, 2026; that commitment is now under fresh review amid renewed Gulf attacks and shifting priorities.

"Even from a purely, purely numbers perspective, you have to look at this again"

"Even from a purely, purely numbers perspective, you have to look at this again," an industry source with direct knowledge of the deliberations said, speaking on condition of anonymity about investment matters rarely discussed publicly.

Sources said a postponed meeting of the Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) will reconvene within the next week as the fund recalibrates its investment approach. No public announcement is expected from the meeting, and the industry source stressed that Qatar is unlikely to unilaterally withdraw from the Paramount deal without Saudi Arabia doing the same: "It’s not a Qatar decision. It’s not a Saudi-UAE decision. It’s a Saudi decision, because all three countries have to commit for the deal to make sense, unless you can find other investors from Asia."

• Timeline and drivers: The merger was announced February 27, 2026; the following day the U.S. and Israel launched a surprise attack on Iran, which in turn attacked Gulf countries hosting U.S. bases. The war and related expenses have accelerated, prompting Gulf funds to reassess large outbound commitments.
• Financial exposure: Documents filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission show Gulf wealth funds pledged $24 billion toward a transaction valued at nearly $111 billion. Chinese investor Tencent had previously been involved but withdrew to avoid U.S. national security scrutiny.
• Broader implications: Harvard economist Jason Furman warned of wider spillovers: "The story is not just deals specifically, but if you look at all the AI data centers and all that growth that’s coming in the next few years, where’s most of that capital coming from? A lot of it is coming from the Gulf. And if the Gulf—not politically, but even just from a financial perspective—cannot commit that, what’s the knock on effects on those companies and the U.S. economy?" He added that "Hyperscalers... are fine, those guys are huge, they can afford it, but what about the next level?"
• Legal and tactical considerations: Gulf officials are reportedly reviewing contracts for force majeure options. As reported by the Financial Times and cited by sources, "A number of Gulf countries have begun an internal review to determine whether force majeure clauses can be invoked in current contracts."
• Company responses: A Paramount spokesperson declined to comment. Spokespeople for the Public Investment Fund (Kingdom of Saudi Arabia), L’imad Holding Company PJSC (UAE), and Qatar Investment Authority (Qatar) did not respond to requests for comment.
• Political overlay: The media deal has private backers including David Ellison, who runs Paramount, and his father Larry Ellison, who "put up billions to cover his son’s merger" and is described in reporting as a major donor to Friends of the IDF. The acquisition would also expand Ellison’s media reach, potentially including CNN.

Sources expect a cautious, wait-and-see posture in the near term. "Just mathematically, it will have to happen," one industry source said of likely scaled-back commitments, adding that Gulf investors "just won’t be able to do the scale they were committed to." Another insider predicted a conditional dynamic: "If Saudi goes in, Qatar will follow. If Saudi doesn’t go in, Qatar won’t follow, they’ll just delay, delay, delay, and see what happens." That uncertainty leaves not only the Paramount transaction but large swaths of AI-related data center financing in the United States vulnerable if Gulf capital is reduced or redeployed.