The Middle East conflict is set to cost Arab countries almost 200 billion dollars, which will be a huge setback to the economic development of the region, according to Bloomberg, quoting a report by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP).

A transient military build-up in the Middle East would be capable of producing “far-reaching socio-economic effects” in the Arab States region, the experts observed.

The net effect on the unemployment rate in the region, according to their estimates, was up to four percentage points, and cost some 3.6 million jobs and pushed as many as four million people into poverty.

The report estimates that the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, namely, Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Oman, and Saudi Arabia, will lose over 5.2 per cent of their GDP.

On February 28, the United States and Israel engaged in a military operation against Iran, targeting key cities, such as Tehran. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps declared a massive revenge operation against Israel. Military bases of the US in Bahrain, Jordan, Iraq, Qatar, Kuwait, the UAE and Saudi Arabia were also attacked.

Iran’s leaders also resolved to shut down the Strait of Hormuz to ships that have connections to the US, Israel and nations that promote aggression against the Islamic Republic. In the course of the conflict, a number of tankers were attacked for going through the strait without the consent of Tehran. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on March 25 that Iran had permitted the Strait of Hormuz to be passed by friendly nations, such as Russia, India, Iraq, China, and Pakistan.