Arab States Sever Ties with Qatar

On Monday, several Arab states cut ties with Qatar over accusations that the small gulf states intervenes in their affairs and supports terrorism in the region. Bahrain was the first nation that cut its ties with Qatar, and then Saudi Arabia, UAE, Egypt, Yemen, Libya, and Maldives followed suit and cut all their diplomatic ties with Qatar.

According to Saudi State News Agency (SPA), Bahrain cut its ties due to their belief that Qatar has meddled in its domestic affairs, and has funded terrorists’ groups associated with Iran.

Saudi Arabia severed land, sea, and air contacts with Qatar due to the violation of agreements signed under the umbrella of Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC).

The Saudis allege Qatar violated agreements to cease instigating hostility against Saudi Arabia and stop support of terrorist groups. The official Saudi statement made an effort to clarify that Saudi Arabia supports the people of Qatar but not the authorities in Doha.

Similarly, UAE, Egypt, Yemen, Libya, and Maldives cut their diplomatic ties with Qatar to show their solidarity in fighting against terrorism and Qatar’s support of Islamist militias seeking to overthrow their regimes.

According to BBC, the most recent escalation came after reportedly Qatari Emir Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, made a speech in late May 2017 criticizing the US, offering support for Iran and reaffirming their support of Muslim Brotherhood, and Hamas.

In addition, the Qatar News Agency reported that Qatar was going to withdraw support from Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, UAE, and Egypt due to “conspiracy” against Qatar. While Qatar officials refuted the news, it damaged the relations between Qatar and the aforementioned states.

According to Politico,  Secretary Tillerson predicts that these actions will not have any impact in their unified actions with Gulf states against terrorism.

While the US works with Qatar militarily, the US has had tense relations with this state because of Qatari support for terrorists’ organizations.

In addition, Al-Jazeera, which is a Qatar-owned news agency continually, provides slanted news coverage in the Middle East causing concern for the US. According to the National Interest, this news agency provides a platform for Anti-American and Anti-Semitic sentiments and uses words such as “victims” and “martyrs” to describe terrorist operatives.

The tensions are nothing new to some of the Gulf states. In 2014, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, and UAE withdrew their ambassadors from Qatar for several months protesting that Qatar was interfering in their affairs. According to BBC, wealthy individuals in Qatar have been known to provide donations to terrorism groups. Furthermore, the Qatar government has supported Islamist groups in Syria with money and weapons.

The move may impact petroleum markets, as Qatar is one of the world’s largest exporter of liquified gas. According to Qatar Tribune, Qatar can still access shipping routes to export its natural gas despite the severed relations with several Arab nations in the region. Qatar is the fourth largest producer of natural gas and oil, and it only has the following five Middle Eastern customers for its natural gas, which compromised 10% of the sales in 2016: Kuwait, Oman, Jordan, UAE, and Egypt.

The majority of its LGS is shipped to other parts of the world and this increased tension will not impact its exports significantly.

The cutting of ties by Arab states threatens to impact Qatar’s economy, food availability, cost of flights, and its construction plans for the World Cup in 2022. While Qatar is under fire from its neighboring Arab states, it has received the backing of Iran.

Qatar has been a supporter of Islamic groups such as Muslim Brotherhood and Hamas despite the opposition by other Arab states over the years. While these tensions are nothing new in the region, President Trump’s visit, two weeks ago, may have emboldened these Gulf states to take a stronger stance against Qatar by showing a united front to Qatar and the world.

President Trump expressed his support in one of his recent tweets by stating, “During my recent trip to the Middle East I stated that there can no longer be funding of Radical Ideology. Leaders pointed to Qatar – look!”

Kuwait has reportedly offered to mediate this tension, and Qatar is receptive to the offer. The plan is for Kuwait’s emir to go to Saudi Arabia on Tuesday and meet with Saudi’s officials. It remains to be seen the impact of Kuwait in this regional conflict and whether or not Kuwait can truly remain neutral.

The cutting of diplomatic ties with Qatar should be a warning signal for any state that harbors or sponsors terrorism. The concerted effort by the Arab states is a step in the right direction in aiding the US in its fight against terrorism and in stabilizing the Middle East.