What's new

Saudia, Bahrain, UAE & Egypt cut diplomatic ties with Qatar

Donald Trump is a clear winner in the Qatar/Saudi divide
ADAM GARRIE

Less than two weeks after Donald Trump visited Saudi Arabia and spoke of the need for Arab unity against Iran, two of the Gulf’s most prominent and ideologically similar states are at each others throats.

While received wisdom is that the Saudi led diplomatic and economic isolation of the small and wealthy state of Qatar represents a fracture in the grand anti-Iranian coalition the United States seeks to build, practically it means something less and something more at the same time.

Donald Trump spoke of the need to create a united anti-Iranian Arab front, but more crucially he said that he was neither there to lecture them on how to do it, nor would America do it for them. In other words, Trump’s speech boiled down to “here’s what to do, now go do it”.

With Saudi and Qatar at loggerheads and with many other Arab states that have hated Qatar’s sponsorship of terrorism for actual reasons (as opposed to the hypocritical and almost comical duplicity from Saudi), any attempt at building this united front has been crushed under the weight of regional economic rivalries which have been augmented by Qatar’s attempts at some sort of rapprochement with Iran.

Iran’s Foreign Ministry is staffed by deeply intelligent people, something which cannot be said for most Gulf states. Iran knows that Qatar has not suddenly developed an affinity for Iran, but rather, they see Iran as a way of putting a stick in the proverbial Saudi bicycle wheel.

Where Saudi Arabia has a decent sized but poorly trained and undisciplined armed forces, Qatar’s armed forces are so small they are numerically negligible. In the event of an actual war, both countries would have to rely heavily on Pakistani mercenaries. Pakistan’s refusal to break off ties with Qatar is a demonstrable failure for Saudi in its attempt to build a wider coalition against its neighbour.

But where does Donald Trump fit in to this? Donald Trump throughout his campaign had been critical of US involvement in the Middle East. Although his policies as President have often contradicted these sentiments, his initial feelings still often feature in his speeches.

A key section of his speech in Saudi Arabia last month is as follows,

“This groundbreaking new centre represents a clear declaration that Muslim-majority countries must take the lead in combating radicalisation, and I want to express our gratitude to King Salman for this strong demonstration of leadership.

I have had the pleasure of welcoming several of the leaders present today to the White House, and I look forward to working with all of you.
America is a sovereign nation and our first priority is always the safety and security of our citizens. We are not here to lecture—we are not here to tell other people how to live, what to do, who to be, or how to worship. Instead, we are here to offer partnership — based on shared interests and values — to pursue a better future for us all”.
Trump in other words threw down the gauntlet for Arab states to take America’s post-1979 anti-Iranian policies and run with them. The current crisis over Qatar is a manifest sign of that policy’s failure.
And why might Trump be privately happy about that?

Few in America, even in the deep state seriously believe that US involvement in a war with Iran would be a good thing. They are willing to talk tough on Iran, lie about Iran to the hilt and sanction Iran but when it comes to direct conflict, every President from Jimmy Carter up through Donald Trump has yet to raise a realistic finger against the Islamic Republic of Iran.

Trump, in spite of his own anti-Iranian rhetoric is if anything still far less interventionist than either Bush or Obama and even they didn’t go after Iran. If Saudi Arabia was ever so foolish as to provoke a war with Iran, America would be forced to make the uncomfortable decision of refraining from a fight that many at least at the level of perverse dreams seek to fight.

>Now, an all ready insane idea of Saudi launching a war against Iran is even less likely as two major Arab Gulf powers are themselves arguing over Iran in public. Trump has said what he ‘needed’ to say and can now wash his hands of further attempts at forcing the Arab world to do what it has always been incapable of doing.

Increasingly, it has become apparent that Trump sees international relations in terms of monetary benefit and personal status, but critically now ideology. He enjoyed being treated by a king in Saudi and getting paid for it, he enjoyed being lauded endlessly by the Likud government in Israel and he distinctly did not enjoy his trip to Europe where NATO and G7 leaders treated him far less respectfully than did Saudi or Israel and even more importantly, they didn’t pay up in respect of NATO.

Donald Trump got the two things he wanted from the Gulf: money and respect. While Obama may have been making urgent phone calls at such a time, Trump will probably leave matters to civil servants in the State Department. His mind is more on golf than on the Gulf.
http://theduran.com/donald-trump-is-a-clear-winner-in-the-qatarsaudi-divide/

India to weather Qatar storm now
Suhasini Haidar, June 6, 2017
india-quatar.jpg

By severing ties with Qatar, the Saudi-led coalition has declared a diplomatic war with the Emirate. This will not just strain ties within the Gulf, but will also impact other countries that have close ties in the region. While most analysts say the move will not impact India immediately, there will be repercussions if the tensions continue and differences are not resolved.

Political ties in the region
Tensions have been rising between Saudi Arabia and Qatar, which is a part of the Islamic Military Alliance, as well as part of the Saudi coalition taking part in the Yemen intervention, for some time now. While the reasons given for the decision are ostensibly Qatar’s support to “regional terror” and the Muslim Brotherhood, which challenges the Saudi monarchy as well as the regimes in many countries in the Gulf, the immediate trigger appears to be the Qatari Emir Al-Thani’s ties with Iran, and his decision to take a phone call from Iranian President Rouhani in the end of May.

In the past few days, there has been an increased call from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), as well as UAE, Bahrain and other countries for Qatar to proclaim “which side it is on.”

India has traditionally stayed out of the “Shi’a-Sunni”, “Arab-Persian” or “Wahabbi-Salafi” divides, and maintained good ties with all, but a further fragmenting West Asia will require even more deft diplomacy to keep these ties untouched by the tensions.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Qatar and received Emir Al-Thani in 2016 and has also forged very close strategic partnerships with the UAE and Saudi Arabia, which are crucial to his outreach in the region.

Trade and manpower
India sources more than half of its energy import needs from countries in the Persian Gulf. Six million Indians live and work in West Asia and they sent home about $63 billion last year.

Energy imports may not be affected immediately, unless the Gulf countries follow through with sanctions. However, as in the case of Yemen, Libya, Lebanon and other countries, any tensions in the region have an immediate impact on thousands of Indian workers.

In Qatar in particular, there are 6,00,000 Indian workers, many of them on projects related to the 2022 FIFA world cup. In addition, India has significant trade ties with the country (Qatar is India’s 19th biggest trading partner with about $9bn in trade), although its trade ties are much stronger with the UAE and the KSA (who rank 3rd and 4th respectively, with about $49 billion and $26 billion, according to Commerce Ministry figures in 2015). After Mr. Modi’s visits in the region, India had hoped for considerable investments from both the UAE and Qatar’s Sovereign Wealth Funds.

Cooperation in fighting terror
The KSA and the UAE are important partners for India on counter-terrorism cooperation and intelligence sharing. Yet it can’t be denied that together with Qatar, these countries have traditionally supported extremist groups that now control parts of Afghanistan, Syria and Iraq.

The KSA, the UAE and Pakistan were the only countries to support the Taliban regime in Afghanistan, and the Qatari capital hosts the Taliban’s office to enable it to conduct dialogue, which was supported by the other Gulf countries. It remains to be seen how the latest schism will affect the global war on terrorism.

Air travel
Besides cutting off diplomatic ties, the Saudi coalition has also decided to cancel Qatar Airways flights to their countries. This will affect Indian passengers who hoped to use Doha as a hub to get to other destinations in the Gulf.

At present, Qatar Airways flies about 24,000 passengers a week from India, ranking just behind the UAE’s Emirates and Eithad Airways. In recent months, Qatar Airways has confirmed that it wants to set up a fully-owned subsidiary domestic airline in India, for which it is applying for clearances. It is unclear how those plans will be affected, if at all with the latest developments.
http://southasianmonitor.com/2017/06/06/india-weather-qatar-storm-now/
 
Nawaz solicit Qatri Prince [emoji13] [emoji13]

Qatri prince Solicit JIT on not coming in Pakistan [emoji120]



Boundary dispute with Saudia have created more tension.
 
Mideast diplomatic row shows deep-rooted conflict
SAM Staff, June 6, 2017
global-times.gif

Bahrain, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Yemen and the Maldives cut diplomatic ties with Qatar on Monday, accusing the country of supporting terrorism and interfering in internal politics. Disturbances have emerged in the Arabian world once again. The latest incident stemmed from a report that Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al Thani called for improved ties with Iran and criticized some gulf Arab countries. The Qataris denied the report, insisting the Qatar state news agency was hacked. But the explanation was rejected by Saudi Arabia.

As a country with a small population but rich natural gas and oil reserves, Qatar aspires to have a certain influence in the region. It hosts the well-known Al Jazeera TV station and will host the World Cup in 2022.

Qatar has long had a complicated relationship with Saudi Arabia, but kept close ties with Iran and is sympathetic to the Muslim Brotherhood, a terrorist organization listed by Egypt. Obviously Qatar is somewhat a non-conformist Arabic country.

The incident, all of a sudden, displays some deep-rooted disputes in the Middle East and Arabian world, for example, the rivalry between Saudi Arabia and Iran, disapproval toward the Muslim Brotherhood and whether the information and values carried by Al Jazeera are suitable.

The Middle East has repeatedly staged plots in which several countries break off ties with another country collectively. This is a relatively mild eruption of conflict in the region. In contrast, the Syrian civil war has intensified the already brutal sectarian conflicts, and has embroiled Syria in big powers’ contention, which is a much more violent and profound conflict.

Qatar also maintains close relations with the US, and hosts the largest US military base in the Middle East. Washington hopes the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) can stay in a state between unity and disorganization as Washington wants to use the GCC’s joint influence to deal with Iran, but the GCC’s internal conflicts to control the member states. Therefore, at present, the possibility and role of the US in the conflict are not clear.

From the perspective of culture, the Arabian and Islamic worlds seem homogeneous. However, in politics, they are seriously split. In the Arabian world, it is common to see one country curse another country. Anti-Americanism is widespread in Arabian society, however, most governments spare no effort to please Washington.

While it will be difficult for Qatar to endure against such a broad severing of diplomatic relations, the country is unlikely to completely swing to Iran, which can endanger its survival. This may be an unforgettable lesson for Qatar. Once it compromises, it may be allowed back into the original Middle Eastern geopolitical structure.

Iran is the real political center of the Middle East. Disputes over religious sects, culture, resources, and attitude toward outside powers are all reflected in the ties with Iran. The gap between Sunnis in Arabian society and Iran’s Shias leaves room for external powers to become involved in the region. Qatar is only a mirror which reflects this.
http://southasianmonitor.com/2017/06/06/mideast-diplomatic-row-shows-deep-rooted-conflict/
 
Maldives severs diplomatic ties with Qatar
SAM Staff, June 6, 2017
quatar_maldives.jpg
The Maldives has severed diplomatic relations with Qatar after Saudi Arabia, Egypt and four other Arab countries cut ties with the oil-rich Gulf state amid a growing diplomatic crisis.

The Maldives foreign ministry claimed in a brief statement that the government “took the decision because of its firm opposition to activities that encourage terrorism and extremism.”

It added that the Maldives has “always pursued a policy of promoting peace and stability in the Middle East” and reiterated “commitment to work with countries that promote peace, stability, and show solidarity in the fight against terrorism.”

The announcement came shortly after Saudi Arabia severed diplomatic ties and closed its borders with Qatar, accusing its Gulf neighbour of destabilising the region by supporting militant groups such as Islamic State and al-Qaeda as well as “Iranian-backed terrorist groups” in restive regions of Saudi Arabia and Bahrain.

The Maldives also severed ties with Iran in May last year, joining other Sunni Muslim countries that took diplomatic action after Saudi Arabia cut ties with its Shia-majority regional rival.

After Bahrain and Saudi Arabia announced the diplomatic withdrawal Monday morning, Egypt, Libya, Yemen and the United Arab Emirates followed suit. Qatari visitors and residents have reportedly been given two weeks to leave Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Egypt.

Qatar’s foreign ministry called the decisions by its Arab neighbours “unjustified and based on false claims and assumptions” and part of a “hidden plan to undermine the State of Qatar.”

“Their purpose is clearly the imposition of guardianship over Qatar, which is in itself a violation of its sovereignty, and is rejected outright,” reads a statement posted by the Qatari foreign ministry.
http://southasianmonitor.com/2017/06/06/maldives-severs-diplomatic-ties-qatar/
 
Iran should be careful about this mess we shouldn't get played .
First of all I am sure this happened with Trump's full approval. Second , Nothing to be happy about because i think it won't last long .
I am sure US and Saudi are waiting for Iran to support Qatar openly . Then we get played .
After all they are all arabs . We should stay neutral because the people of both sides , don't want us to meddle in their affairs . Meddling or openly supporting one side can change so many things against us and the side we support .
If any side officially asks for food products , it's ok because that's just business but nothing more .Even If one side asks for our airspace ( for commercial flights ) , we should make sure we allowed both sides to use our airspace .
This is just a fight between arab brothers ,Something common in their culture .One thing we should not forget is that these fights won't last long , what lasts is their brotherhood .
So i think we should't play their game .I think Active neutrality is the best countermeasure .
You are very smart!
 
Regardless it has destroyed what was suppose to be a strong alliance just for sake of personal reasons. No wonde we need democracy in gulf . these idiots are destroying everything
 
Maldives severs diplomatic ties with Qatar
SAM Staff, June 6, 2017
quatar_maldives.jpg
The Maldives has severed diplomatic relations with Qatar after Saudi Arabia, Egypt and four other Arab countries cut ties with the oil-rich Gulf state amid a growing diplomatic crisis.

The Maldives foreign ministry claimed in a brief statement that the government “took the decision because of its firm opposition to activities that encourage terrorism and extremism.”

It added that the Maldives has “always pursued a policy of promoting peace and stability in the Middle East” and reiterated “commitment to work with countries that promote peace, stability, and show solidarity in the fight against terrorism.”

The announcement came shortly after Saudi Arabia severed diplomatic ties and closed its borders with Qatar, accusing its Gulf neighbour of destabilising the region by supporting militant groups such as Islamic State and al-Qaeda as well as “Iranian-backed terrorist groups” in restive regions of Saudi Arabia and Bahrain.

The Maldives also severed ties with Iran in May last year, joining other Sunni Muslim countries that took diplomatic action after Saudi Arabia cut ties with its Shia-majority regional rival.

After Bahrain and Saudi Arabia announced the diplomatic withdrawal Monday morning, Egypt, Libya, Yemen and the United Arab Emirates followed suit. Qatari visitors and residents have reportedly been given two weeks to leave Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Egypt.

Qatar’s foreign ministry called the decisions by its Arab neighbours “unjustified and based on false claims and assumptions” and part of a “hidden plan to undermine the State of Qatar.”

“Their purpose is clearly the imposition of guardianship over Qatar, which is in itself a violation of its sovereignty, and is rejected outright,” reads a statement posted by the Qatari foreign ministry.
http://southasianmonitor.com/2017/06/06/maldives-severs-diplomatic-ties-qatar/
What on earth Maldives have to do with this shit?
 
What on earth Maldives have to do with this shit?
Qatar is being isolated.

But then what I don't understand is why is this news getting so much importance now, than what it should have got in 2014? Something similar had happened back then.
Lets not forget 1992 when KSA had gunned down Qatari soldiers.
 
Qatar says Kuwait trying to mediate, solve diplomatic rift
APUpdated about an hour ago
0
0

Kuwait is trying to mediate a diplomatic crisis in which Arab countries have cut diplomatic ties to Qatar and moved to isolate the energy-rich, travel-hub nation from the outside world, Qatar's foreign minister said early Tuesday.

The biggest diplomatic crisis in the Persian Gulf region since the 1991 United States-led war against Iraq pits several nations against Qatar, which is home to some 10,000 American troops and a major US military base.

Airlines suspended flights and residents nervous about the peninsula's lone land border closing cleaned out grocery store shelves.

In an interview with Doha-based satellite news network Al Jazeera, Qatar Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed Bin Abdulrahman Al Thani said Kuwait's ruler had asked Qatar's ruling emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, to hold off on giving a speech about the crisis late Tuesday night.

"He received a call from the emir of Kuwait asking him to postpone it in order to give time to solve the crisis," Sheikh Mohammed said.

Still, the minister struck a defiant tone, vowing his nation rejected those "trying to impose their will on Qatar or intervene in its internal affairs."

Bahrain, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates announced Monday they would cut diplomatic ties.

Yemen's internationally-backed government, which has lost the capital and large portions of the war-torn country, also cut relations with Qatar, as did the Maldives and one of conflict-ridden Libya's competing governments.

The move came just two weeks after US President Donald Trump visited Saudi Arabia and vowed to improve ties with both Riyadh and Cairo to combat terrorism and contain Iran.

US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said the move was rooted in longstanding differences and urged the parties to resolve them.

Soccer's governing body FIFA said it remained in regular contact with Qatar, which will host the 2022 World Cup. It did not elaborate.

Saudi Arabia said it was cutting ties due to Qatar's "embrace of various terrorist and sectarian groups aimed at destabilising the region," including the Muslim Brotherhood, Al Qaeda, the militant Islamic State group and militants supported by Iran in the kingdom's restive Eastern Province.

Egypt's Foreign Ministry accused Qatar of taking an "antagonist approach" toward Cairo and said "all attempts to stop it from supporting terrorist groups failed."

Qatar long has denied funding extremists, though Western officials have accused Qatar of allowing or even encouraging funding of Sunni extremists like Al Qaeda's branch in Syria, once known as the Nusra Front.

The Gulf countries ordered their citizens out of Qatar and gave Qataris abroad 14 days to return home to their peninsular nation, whose only land border is with Saudi Arabia.

The countries also said they would eject Qatar's diplomats.

The nations also said they planned to cut air and sea traffic.

Doha-based satellite news network Al Jazeera reported trucks carrying food had begun lining up on the Saudi side of the border, apparently stranded.

The Qatar Stock Exchange fell more than 7 per cent in trading Monday.

Qatar Airways, one of the region's major long-haul carriers, has suspended all flights to Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Bahrain until further notice.

On its website, the carrier said the suspension of its flights would take effect Tuesday and customers are being offered a refund.

The route between Doha, Qatar and Dubai is popular among business travelers and both are major transit hubs for travelers between Asia and Europe.

FlightRadar24, a popular airplane tracking website, said Qatar Airway flights already had started to be affected.

"Many of Qatar Airways' flights to southern Europe and Africa pass through Saudi Arabia," the site said. "Flights to Europe will most likely be rerouted through Iran and Turkey."
 
Saudia and use should look first into their collars before blaming anyone saudia for long supporting jihadis terrorist groups in Afghanistan etc

If gulf states keep doing it stupid things fighting each other soon day will come today's USA will bring it's puppet on all gulf states so we probably later Saudis will be on target of US too

Pakistan should help Qatar sending daily life needs if gulf states keep doing madness
 
Brother the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia along with the Mullah of Iran have made the Muslim world weaker. Saudi Arabia has continued to support the corrupt leaders in Pakistan and why couldn't they have invested the 350 billion dollars in the Muslim world? Every single terrorists group in Pakistan is funded by the Saudi's and this is fact. Every Muslim has the main responsibility of protecting Medina and Mecca, however, we have no obligation in giving our allegiance to the house of Saud. They have sold their souls to the devil and love to live a double life. The princes live a very pious life in Saudi Arabia, but once they come to London, New York, Paris, then alcohol, prostitutes and drugs is a common theme. If Saudi Arabia had any dignity, then they would have showed Donald Trump the door. I don't blame the ordinary Saudi people, they are the biggest victim of this devil worshipping family.
Brother,

We are quick to point out the luxuries of Royalty in Saudi Arabia but we are not much different from them in this matter. Rich people in Pakistan have dual nationalities and investments in foreign entities including Western states. Those who do not, simply lack funds for it.

As for Saudi dealings with the US; it is for wholesale industrialization and strengthening the security of the Kingdom. Do you think that any Islamic state is a substitute for the US in the these matters? No.

Criticism should be logical, not hyper.
 
well, in any case , this event just strengthen our stand in Syria issues .... for years we were saying that they ( KSA , QATAR and UAE ) are supporting terrorists and now , they begin to admit it by ....

Iran should be careful about this mess we shouldn't get played .
First of all I am sure this happened with Trump's full approval. Second , Nothing to be happy about because i think it won't last long .
I am sure US and Saudi are waiting for Iran to support Qatar openly . Then we get played .
After all they are all arabs . We should stay neutral because the people of both sides , don't want us to meddle in their affairs . Meddling or openly supporting one side can change so many things against us and the side we support .
If any side officially asks for food products , it's ok because that's just business but nothing more .Even If one side asks for our airspace ( for commercial flights ) , we should make sure we allowed both sides to use our airspace .
This is just a fight between arab brothers ,Something common in their culture .One thing we should not forget is that these fights won't last long , what lasts is their brotherhood .
So i think we should't play their game .I think Active neutrality is the best countermeasure .

we should just sell something to them and get some money ... سگ زرد برادر شغاله
 
No, I am not living in la-la land. I have repeatedly stated, openly, that there is no genuine Islamic regime anywhere and that all regimes guard their own interests first and foremost. That's why I won't tolerate hypocrites that spread venom against Muslim country x or y when their own or others are not any better at the end of the day.

So, you claim that you don't tolerate hypocrisy! The House of Saud living a double life, you don't see any hypocrisy in that, right?
 

Latest posts

Pakistan Affairs Latest Posts

Back
Top Bottom