Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; and Amman, Jordan | April 15, 2026, 5:20 p.m. ET | 6 min read Arms deals, new pipelines, laying down rail – Gulf states’ steps to protect themselves from a hostile Iran are rapid, diverse, and growing by the day. In the days since Iran’s missiles stopped amid a fragile ceasefire with the United States, Gulf Arab states have moved quickly to lessen their reliance on the Strait of Hormuz. For weeks, the waterway, vital to an oil-thirsty world, has remained closed nearly completely by Iran, and as of Tuesday is purportedly under an additional U.S. blockade targeting Iranian ports. For Gulf states that use the artery to export oil and gas and import goods, no price is too steep and no project is too large to mitigate the risk of Tehran blackmailing the region and closing the strait in the future, officials and observers say. Yet more is afoot than simply backup plans and alternative pipelines.…