The developments in the Persian Gulf region after the discovery of oil and the change in regional equations have made the issue of convergence much more important. Estimating the extent and quality of economic convergence between the Persian Gulf countries, with special emphasis on the role of oil, is the main objective of this article. Therefore, the research is "applied" in terms of its purpose and "exploratory" in terms of its nature. The state of economic convergence was analyzed based on a quantitative method and relying on the criteria of economic size and trade intensity. The effects of oil prices on economic convergence were examined based on the difference of means (T) test, Pearson correlation coefficient, and multiple regression.

The estimation of the degree of economic convergence of the eight Gulf countries during the years 2005-2020 did not provide strong indications of homogeneity and alignment of the countries in terms of trade intensity and economic size. This heterogeneity became more evident when oil price fluctuations were included in the equation. First, and through the (T) test, a significant difference was observed between intra-regional exports (mean score: 2.03) and extra-regional exports (mean score: 2.77). Based on the Pearson correlation test, oil prices significantly explained extra-regional exports (0.644) more than intra-regional exports (0.034). The significant effects of oil prices on extra-regional exports were also confirmed by multiple regression analysis. Overall, the results showed that the heterogeneous economic situation of the Persian Gulf countries was closely related to oil price fluctuations. The increase in oil prices has strengthened extra-regional tendencies and weakened inwardness. As a result, the convergence process of the countries has been disrupted and a vicious cycle has been formed in this regard, which has led to the stabilization of the heterogeneous economic situation in the region.