The US–Iran war is generating a media narrative that extends well beyond the battlefield, and for businesses across the Gulf, the implications are immediate. Supply chain disruption, energy price volatility, Strait of Hormuz risk and shifts in investor confidence are dominating global coverage, creating a fast-moving information environment that is directly influencing how markets, partners and stakeholders perceive the region.
CARMA, the global leader in media intelligence and research solutions, will present new findings on how these narratives are forming and what they mean for business leaders during its second US–Iran Media Insights Briefing on 1st April 2026. The webinar is designed for senior executives, communications leaders and decision-makers who need to understand how perception risk is shaping commercial reality across the GCC and key international markets.
Complimentary Services for Businesses
The webinar forms part of a broader, complementary programme CARMA has developed to support decision-makers during this period:
- Live Dashboard: real-time tracking of media volume, sentiment, themes and key spokespersons across traditional, social and AI-driven channels
- Daily Executive Briefings: structured intelligence summaries for senior leaders, highlighting narrative shifts, risk signals and messaging trends
- Real-Time Alerts: immediate WhatsApp notifications flagging critical media developments as they unfold
Who Is Speaking
The session brings together four senior voices spanning media intelligence, international journalism, diplomatic communications and crisis strategy:
- Mazen Nahawi, Founder and Group CEO, CARMA — presenting new conflict narrative findings
- Arun Sudhaman, Founding Editor, Earned First — moderating and providing editorial context
- Nicola Aiken, Head of Communications, British Embassy, UAE — offering diplomatic and institutional perspective
- Sean Trainor, CEO and Founder, Salient Communication Group — sharing insights on strategic crisis communications
Attendees will receive a copy of the full conflict narrative report following the session.
Mazen Nahawi, Founder and Group CEO of CARMA, said: “What we are seeing in the data is that the business impact of this conflict is being shaped as much by narrative as by events on the ground. How energy risk is framed, how supply chain disruption is reported, how government messaging is interpreted, these are the forces influencing investor sentiment, stakeholder confidence and commercial decisions across the Gulf. This initiative exists to give leaders real-time visibility into that process.”
What the Data Shows
CARMA’s real-time conflict narrative tracking initiative has analysed more than 1.5 million traditional media articles across over 31,000 global outlets and 6 million original social media posts spanning nine platforms. Coverage has been tracked across the US, UK, India and the GCC, revealing the truly global scale of attention on the conflict and its second-order effects.
Key findings with direct relevance to Gulf-based organisations include:
- Global supply chain risk, Strait of Hormuz disruption and energy market volatility have dominated coverage volumes, significantly outweighing discussion around human cost or sector-specific impacts
- Global sentiment remains largely neutral to negative, reflecting heightened uncertainty and risk sensitivity across markets, with particular intensity in coverage referencing Gulf economies
- Coverage is being shaped by both official government messaging and rapidly evolving social and AI-driven narratives, accelerating the speed at which perception shifts and creating new reputational risks for businesses in the region
- Message discipline, spokesperson credibility and the ability to respond clearly in moments of uncertainty are playing a defining role in shaping stakeholder confidence
To register for the webinar or access the full suite of complimentary conflict monitoring services, visit: carma.com