Iran and Qatar to set up a strategic coordination council to counter Saudi Arabia and the UAE

[Kuwaiti Girl]

According to some reports, Iran and Qatar have agreed to set up a bilateral strategic cooperation council in order to counter both Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates in the wider region.

The announcement is expected to be made in July this year.

The news was first reported by Le Monde newspaper, according to a popular (and very reliable) Kuwaiti writer on Twitter:

https://twitter.com/x/status/733316267931734016

I was told that several political analysts on BBC World Service speculated that the Qataris made this move because they suspected that Saudi Arabia and the UAE would succeed in convincing Turkey to abandon its plan to establish a military base in their country.

For those unaware of GCC politics, Qatar is disliked by almost all GCC countries, especially Saudi Arabia and the UAE, for its pro-Muslim Brotherhood foreign policy. The Emiratis and Saudis are anti-Muslim Brotherhood, whereas the Qataris and Turks are pro-Muslim Brotherhood. Qatar and, to some extent, Turkey are engaged in an ongoing proxy war against Saudi Arabia and the UAE in Libya. Back in 2012, the Qataris (and Turks) were also engaged in a proxy war against the Saudis and Emiratis in places like Yemen and Egypt.

The Saudis and Emiratis have long flirted with the idea of staging a palace coup in Qatar in order to dethrone the pro-Muslim Brotherhood members of the Qatari royal family and replace them with anti-Muslim Brotherhood members.

This coup scenario has long been feared by the Qatari rulers, which is why Qatar signed a number of military agreements with Iran in 2010 and, more recently, in 2015. The 2010 military agreement would allow the Iranian military to enter Qatari soil should Qatar be invaded by another country, such as Saudi Arabia. As for the 2015 agreement, which was signed in September/October last year, the Iranian navy would be permitted to establish a presence in Qatar's territorial waters should it feel the sovereignty of either country is threatened.

The Qataris want a Turkish presence in their country as well in order to limit Saudi Arabia and the UAE's chances of successfully staging a palace coup in Qatar. They feel it'll also prevent any Saudi or Emirati invasion of Qatar as well. Having said that, the Qataris have reportedly become worried as of late after they discovered that the rest of the GCC was trying to convince the Turks to move away from Qatar. As a result, they decided to set up a strategic cooperation council with Iran.

 

[Arminkh]

http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2015/11/iran-qatar-rapprochement-middle-east.html#

Is Qatar Iran's door to the Gulf?
The map of alliances in the Middle East is changing rapidly, influenced by regional and international conflicts. Following the Iran nuclear deal signed in July and the improvement of Iran’s ties with the West in general, multiple parties in the region have started to reconsider their relationships.


The countries that have complained about the expansion of Iranian influence in the region and tried to hinder it have found this role strengthened. However, following the nuclear deal, some Gulf countries, particularly Qatar, have sought to decrease the tension and started to warm to Iran.

Iran’s recent stances have allowed the country to adapt to the opposition facing Tehran’s influence in the region following the nuclear deal, Reformists called on Iran to open up to the Gulf countries. Speaking to Shafaqna on Oct. 18, Ayatollah Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, the chairman of the Expediency Council, said that the improvement of Iranian ties with Saudi Arabia is necessary and will be possible based on mutual interests and respect, the same reasoning followed in the nuclear talks with the West.

Furthermore, on Oct. 14, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said that it is in neither Iran nor Saudi Arabia's interest to harm one another, adding, “Iran and the Arab countries are in the same boat, which if it sinks, everyone on board will drown.”

Qatar’s stances seemed to align with this new approach by Tehran. It seems that Qatar was prepared for and welcomed the Iranian rapprochement with the West, as it waited to see the outcome of the Iranian nuclear discussions, and adapted its own alliances based on developments in this regard.

Qatar was one of the first countries to welcome the Iran nuclear deal. Qatari Foreign Minister Khalid Attiyah said Aug. 4 that the deal makes the region safer. The emir of Qatar had focused his discourse at the UN General Assembly on Sept. 28 on the need for cooperation and rapprochement with Iran. He said, “The relations between Doha and Tehran are evolving and growing steadily, based on common interests and good neighborliness.”

He added that Qatar “looks forward with hope that this nuclear deal contributes to maintaining security and stability in our region,” and concluded that his country “is ready to host a dialogue between Iran and the Gulf countries in its territory.”

Also, Qatar fears an expansion of the Saudi role in the region following the Saudi-Iranian conflict, which is playing out in the fighting in Yemen. The Saudi-Qatari conflict also escalated when Saudi Arabia and other Gulf States withdrew their ambassadors from Qatar on March 5, negatively impacting Qatar’s regional influence.

Qatar took another step toward Iran by developing its security and military agreements with it in a qualitative change. The Islamic Republic News Agency announced that Iran and Qatar signed a security agreement Oct. 18 to fight crime in the two countries’ boundary waters.

This new agreement was preceded by a series of meetings and understandings between the two countries. In December 2010, Iranian military commanders arrived in Qatar in Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps military vessels to hold meetings and reach security understandings. Iran’s Ambassador to Qatar Abdullah Sohrabi and military attache Masha-Allah Purseh attended the meeting that resulted in the signing of asecurity agreement between the two countries. The joint meetings and talks between the two sides continued in the military, security and economic fields.

Apart from these political developments, Qatar has shared important economic interests with Iran, particularly in the gas fields between the two countries. Qatar is aware that the lifting of sanctions on Iran would end its privileged position for Iran, as it is the only one of the two that can host foreign companies investing in gas. If sanctions are lifted then Iran could do this as well.

In this context, investment projects will be launched in the joint Qatari-Iranian gas fields following the lifting of UN sanctions in the deal's full implementation deal, which could take up to six months. These projects will require cooperation and understanding between the two countries.

Qatar does not want to be part of the Saudi camp in the sectarian conflict in the region. It already has border disputes with Saudi Arabia and does not want to be under its influence, considering itself a leader in the Arab World. This is another reason for Qatar to diversify its alliances in general and move closer to Iran after the healing of the rift between Iran and the West.

The responses to the recent Qatari-Iranian security agreement were totally different in the Gulf countries and Iraq. Some parties with good relations with Iran, such as the Badr Organization, have welcomed the Qatari-Iranian rapprochement, while others consider it a form of treason. On Oct. 22, the pro-Iranian Badr parliamentary bloc in Iraq welcomed the security agreement and called on the Gulf countries to reconcile their views with Iran's.

Nevertheless, Gulf news sites opposing the Qatari-Iranian rapprochement have exaggerated the security agreement between the two countries to exploit it in the Saudi-Iranian conflict. Saudi Arabia's Sada newspaper reported Oct. 20 that Qatar and Iran have signed an agreement involving the entry of the Iranian navy into Qatari waters as well as Iranian help to train Qatari naval forces on Iran's Qeshm Island. It described the agreement as a threat to the security of Qatar's Gulf neighbors. Based on unverified reports, other Gulf websites claimed that Qatar is on its way to turning from being a “US favorite” into an “Iranian protectorate.”

Away from the exaggerations, experience shows that alliances in the Middle East change with the political equations between the conflicting powers in the region, and these changes sometimes result in harsh surprises to embattled countries such as Iraq and Syria, which are in no position to make such initiatives.



Read more: http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/ori...-rapprochement-middle-east.html#ixzz49D3ADtZp

 

[Blackmoon]

Let's not forget Qatar supports all kind of terrorism in middle east especially in Syria.

 

[mohsen]

B.S

 

[Serpentine]

Nonsense. Qatar's policies in region are even dirtier than those of Saudis. The groups Qatar is supporting in Syria and its dirty policy towards Iraq and Shias in general through its rich media system (AlJazeera terror network) has nothing short of ISIS.

 

[somebozo]

not sure who came up with this brain farting...

 

[haman10]

I am extremely dubious abt this thing.

But we should do all we can to defeat them from within.

Yes Qatar is a supporter of terrorism and yes they're funding them as well
But, discord among terrorists is always a good thing

 

[Tripoli]

Qatar hosts a Turkish military base so I doubt that this news is true.

 

[Madali]

The Syrian mess started with Qatar.

 

[scythian500]

USA is a supporter of terrorism and bad.... Israel is a supporter of terrorists and bader... Saudis are even baddder bad and a terrorist heaven... and Qatar is even badder than all of these...

We have a region full of terrorists and terrorist supporters... Governments create and support terrorists and use them against their rivals... The world now is full of terrorists of all kind...

Yet they go label, call and promote Hizbullah as terrorists and naive people around the world buy and believe it as they believe Iron Man will save the world when Aliens are here to eat us!!

Yet they call Hizbullah a terrorist group just because it works against their will... a legal party in Lebanon with ministers in cabinet and PMs in parliament... A legal party who defends itself against an occupier (Israel) and Takfiri terrorists who swear to kill all Shias (Hizbullah included) just because they are shia... A party that is simply defending itself against those who swear to kill all Christians... Kill all sunnis who are not Wahhabi... But of course they never want to kill Jews!! Jews are always exempted!!


What a full of SHHIT world with full of SHHIT policies, media, brains..!!

What a BS world, where Saudi Arabia the mother of all terrorists are the moderate ones who needs to be defended and Hizbullah and Iran and Syria who defend the whole world against Takfiri terrorists (ISIL, Al Qaeda, Al Nosrah, Ahrar al ASSS and etc) are to be promoted as terrorists!!

Takfiri terrorists come to cameras, filming, then publish it on social media that is supposed to be closing their pages!! or publish it on Al jazirah or Al Arabiyeh as they have access to them!! Takfiri terrorists come filming their announcements... They announce officially that they will never stop until they kill all Shia Muslims, All Christians (but not Jews,, ofcourse!) and All other Sunnis who are not Wahhabis... They announce it officially that they have this intention...

Yet when Iran and resistance axis steps forward, fighting them... giving martyrs in this fights... Defending the whole world (except for Jews who are not in danger as it seems!)... Yet, Iran and its allies are terrorists and whoever against Iran is a moderate model to follow and learn from!!

What a world we are living in... I see it necessary for aliens to come destroy the earth as it is so we can build another one with terrorists labeled and fought as terrorists and saviors labeled and honored as saviors...

 

[bsruzm]

The news was first reported by Le Monde newspaper, according to a popular Kuwaiti writer on Twitter:

It is obvious what they are pathetically aiming.



@Kuwaiti Girl , no wonder a popular (not really) Kuwaiti in it :

"As a nation, Kuwait has been, arguably, free of freedom itself. Claimed in turn by İstanbul, Riyadh, and Baghdad, Kuwait has survived by playing Turks off Persians, Arabs off one another, and the English off everyone." P. J. O'Rourke

I've seen it happening with Saddam.

I was told that several political analysts on BBC World Service speculated that the Qataris made this move because they suspected that Saudi Arabia and the UAE would succeed in convincing Turkey to abandon its plan to establish a military base in their country.

The Qataris want a Turkish presence in their country as well in order to limit Saudi Arabia and the UAE's chances of successfully staging a palace coup in Qatar. They feel it'll also prevent any Saudi or Emirati invasion of Qatar as well.

Enough with these bullsh*t.

 

[Kuwaiti Girl]

It seems that some people have a very short memory of the Middle East. In case some of you missed it, Iran was literally in bed with the Qatar-backed Muslim Brotherhood before the advent of the Arab Spring. In fact, prior to 2011, many Iran-backed Shia clerics in the region, including Muqtada al-Sadr (who has recently betrayed his Iranian allies), maintained healthy and cordial ties with Qatar with the full acknowledgement and blessing of the Iranian rulers. (In hindsight, this now looks like it was a very silly thing for Iran to do.) Moreover, ever since 2011, Iran has consistently given moral support (at the very least) to unpopular, Muslim Brotherhood-led Islamist uprisings/rebellions in places like Egypt and Libya, despite the associated violence and bloodshed. The fact that the Qatar-backed Muslim extremists tried to hijack the genuine revolutions of Egypt, Libya and Tunisia, despite being opposed by the overwhelming majority of the Arab masses, didn't seem to bother the Iranian leaders that much. On the contrary, Iran continued to publicly support the so-called "Islamic awakening" that was being led by the Muslim Brotherhood in the Sunni Arab World -- except when it came to Syria, that is. No Iranian can sincerely deny this.

The pan-Islamic lovefest and brouhaha between Iran and the Qatar-backed Muslim Brotherhood ended very quickly when the two sides began to disagree (and, ultimately, clash) with each other over the future of Syria. Syria was clearly a red line for the Iranians because al-Assad was their favorite indispensable ally, to put it mildly. His departure would've been detrimental to Iran's regional aspiration of consolidating/integrating the Fertile Crescent under its sphere of influence. Anyway, Iran's objection to the removal of al-Assad dealt a huge blow to what was a relatively calm and fruitful relationship between the Islamic Republic and the Muslim Brotherhood. Many members of the Muslim Brotherhood started to become disillusioned with Iran, and Al-Qaradawi and co suddenly felt betrayed by their traditionally low-profile and well-meaning Iranian partners. Overnight, "brothers" turned into sworn enemies, and the so-called "Islamic awakening" in the Arab World, especially in Syria, suddenly became a "takfiri and Wahhabi invasion" in the eyes of Khamenei et al. A lot of Iranians genuinely believe that their rulers never associated themselves with the Qataris and their regional proxies, despite all evidence to the contrary.

2013 was the year when the marriage between Iran and Qatar officially ended, especially after the former Egyptian president Mohamed Morsi all but formally declared war on Syria's al-Assad. Nevertheless, Iran and Qatar are still friends today, albeit the two countries no longer trust each other as well as they used to. Of course, things will never be as fruitful as they were in 2006, when even the likes of Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of Hezbollah, sang the praises of Qatar for its "positive role" in Lebanon. Those were the honeymoon years with regard to the relations between Iran, Qatar and the Muslim Brotherhood. I'm surprised not too many Iranians remember that era.

Interesting fact: Did you know that Iran's supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, translated the works and writings of Sayyid Qutb? He's a big fan of his work, apparently. Ironically, Wahhabism and takfirism are terms that get thrown around by a lot of Iranians when things go awry. Khamenei had no problem translating the works/writings of a Muslim Brotherhood leader who's considered to be a takfiri by many Shia scholars, and yet we're supposed to believe that Iran is currently engaged in an ideological battle against takfirism. In truth, these clashes are almost always about power and material gains. Ideologies are only for public consumption.

Anyway, you might find this hard to believe but Qatar actually has very strong/close ties to many Shias and Shia communities in Iraq, especially the popular cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, who has recently turned his back against Iran. In fact, the majority of Qataris are originally from the southern Iraqi region of Az Zubayr, in spite of their religious differences. They still maintain extended family ties with their relatives in southern Iraq.

I started this thread because that's the information I came across on the internet. I don't know how true or accurate it is, but most people in the GCC (e.g. Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, and the UAE) are already well aware of the irrefutable fact that Qatar is intermittently, if not consistently, untrustworthy. It's part of that country's DNA. One must bear in mind that Qatar's history is filled/mired with coups and counter-coups. Qatar's paranoia against its neighbors, especially its larger immediate neighbor, has more often than not pushed it into Iran's fold, much to the pleasure of many Iranian politicians who've sought to use it as an opportunity to infiltrate the Arabian Peninsula. The Qataris think they're being clever by balancing themselves between Iran and Saudi Arabia and by signing military agreements with the Iranians, including a very controversial military agreement that was signed in late 2015.

Regional clashes and meaningless political rhetoric aside, Qatar still wants to cozy up to Iran because its pro-Muslim Brotherhood rulers crossed a few red lines vis-à-vis their relationship with the other Gulf Arab states and feel that they need all the protection that they could get. They mistakenly thought that Turkey could protect them from intra-Arab disputes, but they obviously didn't think it through properly. They didn't anticipate that the architect of the Muslim Brotherhood revolutions in the Arab World -- i.e. former Turkish prime minister Ahmet Davutoğlu, who was famous for saying back in the 1990s that he wanted to establish a "Muslim Brotherhood belt" in Turkey's underbelly -- was going to get kicked out of office by Erdogan.

Qatar now finds itself caught between a rock and a hard place. It doesn't know if Turkey will really keep it safe from potential Saudi- and Emirati-backed palace coups. The rulers of Qatar are beginning to feel that Turkey will gradually (and quietly) abandon the Muslim Brotherhood project after Davutoglu's departure.

Everything's possible from this day on. Qatar could become weaker in the coming years, which will, in turn, strengthen the regional position of Saudi Arabia, the UAE and other anti-Muslim Brotherhood countries. Alternatively, Turkey could carry on with the Muslim Brotherhood project and provide support to Qatar, despite Davutoglu's departure, which might help keep the Islamist dream alive. Ironically, the Iranian rulers want the Muslim Brotherhood project to succeed in the Arab World, except in Syria, because the rise of Islamism across the Persian Gulf would invariably legitimatize the existence of the Islamic Republic. Why else did the Iranian leaders describe the Muslim Brotherhood takeover of several North African countries as an "Islamic awakening". And why else are the Iranian leaders still trying to maintain good ties with the Muslim Brotherhood rulers of Sudan, despite all the times Omar al-Bashir has stabbed them in the back?

Only time will tell how things will unfold.

 

[Madali]

It seems that some people have a very short memory of the Middle East. In case some of you missed it, Iran was literally in bed with the Qatar-backed Muslim Brotherhood before the advent of the Arab Spring. In fact, prior to 2011, many Iran-backed Shia clerics in the region, including Muqtada al-Sadr (who has recently betrayed his Iranian allies), maintained healthy and cordial ties with Qatar with the full acknowledgement and blessing of the Iranian rulers. (In hindsight, this now looks like it was a very silly thing for Iran to do.) Moreover, ever since 2011, Iran has consistently given moral support (at the very least) to unpopular, Muslim Brotherhood-led Islamist uprisings/rebellions in places like Egypt and Libya, despite the associated violence and bloodshed. The fact that the Qatar-backed Muslim extremists tried to hijack the genuine revolutions of Egypt, Libya and Tunisia, despite being opposed by the overwhelming majority of the Arab masses, didn't seem to bother the Iranian leaders that much. On the contrary, Iran continued to publicly support the so-called "Islamic awakening" that was being led by the Muslim Brotherhood in the Sunni Arab World -- except when it came to Syria, that is. No Iranian can sincerely deny this.

The pan-Islamic lovefest and brouhaha between Iran and the Qatar-backed Muslim Brotherhood ended very quickly when the two sides began to disagree (and, ultimately, clash) with each other over the future of Syria. Syria was clearly a red line for the Iranians because al-Assad was their favorite indispensable ally, to put it mildly. His departure would've been detrimental to Iran's regional aspiration of consolidating/integrating the Fertile Crescent under its sphere of influence. Anyway, Iran's objection to the removal of al-Assad dealt a huge blow to what was a relatively calm and fruitful relationship between the Islamic Republic and the Muslim Brotherhood. Many members of the Muslim Brotherhood started to become disillusioned with Iran, and Al-Qaradawi and co suddenly felt betrayed by their traditionally low-profile and well-meaning Iranian partners. Overnight, "brothers" turned into sworn enemies, and the so-called "Islamic awakening" in the Arab World, especially in Syria, suddenly became a "takfiri and Wahhabi invasion" in the eyes of Khamenei et al. A lot of Iranians genuinely believe that their rulers never associated themselves with the Qataris and their regional proxies, despite all evidence to the contrary.

2013 was the year when the marriage between Iran and Qatar officially ended, especially after the former Egyptian president Mohamed Morsi all but formally declared war on Syria's al-Assad. Nevertheless, Iran and Qatar are still friends today, albeit the two countries no longer trust each other as well as they used to. Of course, things will never be as fruitful as they were in 2006, when even the likes of Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of Hezbollah, sang the praises of Qatar for its "positive role" in Lebanon. Those were the honeymoon years with regard to the relations between Iran, Qatar and the Muslim Brotherhood. I'm surprised not too many Iranians remember that era.

Interesting fact: Did you know that Iran's supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, translated the works and writings of Sayyid Qutb? He's a big fan of his work, apparently. Ironically, Wahhabism and takfirism are terms that get thrown around by a lot of Iranians when things go awry. Khamenei had no problem translating the works/writings of a Muslim Brotherhood leader who's considered to be a takfiri by many Shia scholars, and yet we're supposed to believe that Iran is currently engaged in an ideological battle against takfirism. In truth, these clashes are almost always about power and material gains. Ideologies are only for public consumption.

Anyway, you might find this hard to believe but Qatar actually has very strong/close ties to many Shias and Shia communities in Iraq, especially the popular cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, who has recently turned his back against Iran. In fact, the majority of Qataris are originally from the southern Iraqi region of Az Zubayr, in spite of their religious differences. They still maintain extended family ties with their relatives in southern Iraq.

I started this thread because that's the information I came across on the internet. I don't know how true or accurate it is, but most people in the GCC (e.g. Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, and the UAE) are already well aware of the irrefutable fact that Qatar is intermittently, if not consistently, untrustworthy. It's part of that country's DNA. One must bear in mind that Qatar's history is filled/mired with coups and counter-coups. Qatar's paranoia against its neighbors, especially its larger immediate neighbor, has more often than not pushed it into Iran's fold, much to the pleasure of many Iranian politicians who've sought to use it as an opportunity to infiltrate the Arabian Peninsula. The Qataris think they're being clever by balancing themselves between Iran and Saudi Arabia and by signing military agreements with the Iranians, including a very controversial military agreement that was signed in late 2015.

Regional clashes and meaningless political rhetoric aside, Qatar still wants to cozy up to Iran because its pro-Muslim Brotherhood rulers crossed a few red lines vis-à-vis their relationship with the other Gulf Arab states and feel that they need all the protection that they could get. They mistakenly thought that Turkey could protect them from intra-Arab disputes, but they obviously didn't think it through properly. They didn't anticipate that the architect of the Muslim Brotherhood revolutions in the Arab World -- i.e. former Turkish prime minister Ahmet Davutoğlu, who was famous for saying back in the 1990s that he wanted to establish a "Muslim Brotherhood belt" in Turkey's underbelly -- was going to get kicked out of office by Erdogan.

Qatar now finds itself caught between a rock and a hard place. It doesn't know if Turkey will really keep it safe from potential Saudi- and Emirati-backed palace coups. The rulers of Qatar are beginning to feel that Turkey will gradually (and quietly) abandon the Muslim Brotherhood project after Davutoglu's departure.

Everything's possible from this day on. Qatar could become weaker in the coming years, which will, in turn, strengthen the regional position of Saudi Arabia, the UAE and other anti-Muslim Brotherhood countries. Alternatively, Turkey could carry on with the Muslim Brotherhood project and provide support to Qatar, despite Davutoglu's departure, which might help keep the Islamist dream alive. Ironically, the Iranian rulers want the Muslim Brotherhood project to succeed in the Arab World, except in Syria, because the rise of Islamism across the Persian Gulf would invariably legitimatize the existence of the Islamic Republic. Why else did the Iranian leaders describe the Muslim Brotherhood takeover of several North African countries as an "Islamic awakening". And why else are the Iranian leaders still trying to maintain good ties with the Muslim Brotherhood rulers of Sudan, despite all the times Omar al-Bashir has stabbed them in the back?

Only time will tell how things will unfold.

Well, of course, relationships and allies in the middle east is a complete mess.

 

[Aramagedon]

I prefer any terrorist regime in ME over Saudi regime any day!

Qatari regime has threaned to eliminate Saudi regime for many times! Let them fight against each other ...

Saudi in love with USA and Israel

Saudi in love with Salafi party of Turkey

Saudi in love with Christian king of Jordan


But:

Saudi Vs Hezbollah

Saudi Vs Hamas

Saudi Vs Yemen

Saudi Vs Qatar

Saudi Vs Oman

Saudi Vs Kuwait

Saudi Vs Syria

Saudi Vs Iraq

Saudi Vs Egypt, MB and Sis (in some degrees)

Saudi Vs al-Azhar

Saudi Vs Algeria

Saudi Vs benghazi Libya

Saudi Vs Iran & Russia!

@Ceylal

At the end of the day Saudis are the loosers and they're shooting in their own bare-brain heads thank God. Not to mention very bad tensions for power in Saudi clan, ISIS and al Qaeda threats etc ...

 

[xenon54 out]

Saudi in love with Salafi party of Turkey

Thats new to me, can you elaborate?