Despite a fragile ceasefire, the Iran war continues to fuel global instability. Disruptions to global energy markets, maritime shipping routes, and transport corridors are exposing converging security and economic vulnerabilities across Israel, Gulf states, and increasingly, Central Asia. Nevertheless, this crisis presents Israel with a meaningful opportunity to operationalize trilateral cooperation with the Gulf and Central Asia under the Abraham Accords. 

Originally designed to promote normalization between Israel and key Arab states, the Abraham Accords are now evolving beyond their initial geographic scope. The inclusion of Kazakhstan signals the emergence of a broader regional architecture linking the Middle East and Central Asia through shared diplomatic interests. In the context of the Iran war, these regions face common challenges across energy, trade, and defense capabilities. These shared constraints highlight the need for deeper and more structured cooperation among Abraham Accords signatories.

Disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz are straining energy systems and exposing the fragility of maritime-dependent export routes. For the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Bahrain, this raises immediate concerns around export continuity, whereas Israel faces risks to the security and flow of its energy imports. Kazakhstan, meanwhile, must contend with structural constraints, since its export routes are exposed to disruptions caused by simultaneous conflicts involving Iran and Russia.

Current disruptions to energy flows underscore this vulnerability. Approximately 25% of Israel’s oil imports originate from Kazakhstan, highlighting the practical importance of this supply relationship.

Although Kazakhstan is a major global oil producer and often perceived as a strategic alternative energy supplier, it is experiencing production limits and chokepoints with exports. In addition, Iran’s attacks on energy infrastructure in the Gulf, most recently striking near Abu Dhabi’s nuclear power plant, emphasize growing risks to the region’s production and export capacity. Together, these pressures reinforce the necessity to develop alternative and targeted multilateral initiatives that strengthen energy resilience. Under the Abraham Accords, such efforts could include joint investment platforms focused on strengthening energy security and logistics infrastructure.

Multilateral collaboration could also extend to renewable energy deployment. Israel’s strength in technological innovation in the energy sector, the UAE’s capital and global investment networks, and Kazakhstan’s natural resources and connectivity provide a complementary foundation for connecting Middle Eastern infrastructure with Central Asian markets. While existing bilateral agreements among these countries are significant, aligning them within a multilateral framework may enable coordinated investment and long-term strategic collaboration that could essentially reinforce a more durable and stable regional order. Centering cooperation around shared strategic and economic interests could strengthen existing partnerships, while also further elevating Israel’s role as a strategic connector in emerging cross-regional partnerships.

Energy and trade vulnerabilities are matched by a shared threat in the security domain. Iran’s use of drones, precision-guided missiles, and proxy networks target Israel and the Gulf directly. For Central Asia, this threat environment raises concerns around spillover instability, particularly since Tehran targeted the Nakhchivan enclave in Azerbaijan, a member of the Organization of Turkic States to which Kazakhstan also belongs.

A multilateral approach to defense cooperation is therefore essential and should be a pivotal part of deepening the Abraham Accords.

A trilateral framework could facilitate intelligence sharing, early warning systems, and joint training among Abraham Accords signatories. Israel’s defense technologies, the Gulf’s geographic positioning, and Kazakhstan’s regional connectivity offer the basis for a more resilient security architecture. By linking early warning systems and coordinating defense responses, an Israel-Gulf-Central Asia defense partnership under the Abraham Accords could strengthen deterrence by improving the ability to preempt and respond to shared threats collectively.

Finally, Kazakhstan’s push for economic diversification is accelerating its engagement with the Gulf, positioning Arab states as key anchors in this emerging architecture. The UAE remains the leading Gulf investor in Kazakhstan with investment in 2026 reaching $1.64 billion. In addition, in 2025, Kazakhstan and the UAE signed 22 bilateral agreements worth over $5 billion to facilitate greater cooperation in transport, renewable energy, and innovation.

Saudi Arabia and Qatar are also expanding cooperation in infrastructure, energy, and agriculture, reflecting a broader Gulf strategy to deepen economic ties with Central Asia. As Gulf engagement in Central Asia expands, the strategic case for Israel’s involvement becomes more compelling.

Israel offers a distinct comparative advantage as a global leader in innovation and applied solutions in energy and sustainability sectors. Its expertise in renewable energy, water management, and agri-tech aligns closely with the development priorities of both Gulf and Central Asian partners. 

This is already evident in Israel-UAE cooperation under the Abraham Accords, which includes renewable energy and environmental initiatives that combine Israeli innovation with Gulf capital to deliver sustainability-focused solutions across the region. Integrating Israel into the growing Gulf-Central Asia nexus would build on this existing foundation and facilitate the transfer of technology and expertise into new markets to enhance the scale and impact of ongoing projects. This form of multilateral engagement is significant because it could help strengthen operational alignment and embed shared technical standards to create a more cohesive foundation for future cross-regional engagements.

A multilateral Abraham Accords framework is therefore a strategic necessity.

Underscored by the Iran war, which continues to expose vulnerabilities in global energy systems, connectivity and trade, and security, this approach offers a pathway to strengthen regional resilience. It could allow Israel, Gulf states, and Kazakhstan to move beyond diplomatic normalization and toward a scalable and sustainable model of cooperation that can deliver long-term stability beyond this current moment of heightened global uncertainty.

In conjunction, a multilateral Abraham Accords framework could strengthen collective deterrence and lay the groundwork for a more stable and durable regional peace.

The writer is a member of Israel’s Forum Dvorah: Women in National Security. She specializes in US-Israel-Central Asia relations and regional interreligious affairs.