Qatar and SA finally break over Iran issue

Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates have recently announced they will be cutting ties with Qatar. Saudi Arabia said it made the decision based on Qatar’s “embrace of various terrorist and sectarian groups aimed at destabilizing the region,” including the Muslim Brotherhood, Al Qaeda, IS and other groups, as well as its interference in the affairs of Saudi Arabia and members of the Gulf Cooperation Council ( GCC).

Bahrain said its decision was the result of what it called Qatar’s “media incitement, support for armed terrorist activities, and funding linked to Iranian groups to carry out sabotage and spreading chaos in Bahrain.”

Egypt’s foreign ministry accused Qatar of taking an “antagonist approach” toward the country and supporting terrorist groups. The United Arab Emirates accused Doha of “supporting, funding and embracing terrorism, extremism, and sectarian organizations.” Yemen, Libya and the Maldives have also announced to cut all ties with Qatar. What triggered the Gulf diplomatic rift?

The rivalry between Saudi Arabia and Iran is deeply- strained and contradictions and conflicts are ceaselessly aroused between them. Saudi Arabia urged all brotherly countries to follow its lead in isolating Iran, especially members of the GCC.

However, Qatar seems to have alternative opinions. With Hassan Rouhani reelected as Iran’s president, the Emir of Qatar expressed a willingness to deepen and strengthen Iran- Qatar relations in a phone call.

Recently, the Emir was quoted by the Qatar News Agency as saying at a military ceremony that Iran represents a “regional and Islamic power that cannot be ignored and it is unwise to face up against it.” Naturally, this has aroused dissatisfaction from Saudi Arabia and other countries in the region.

Al Raya of Qatar recently published an article aimed at criticizing a UAE conspiracy. The article claimed that as emails taken from the inbox of the UAE’s ambassador to the US by hackers showed, the UAE government exerted pressure on and campaigned hard in Washington for the move of a US base out of Qatar. The UAE was also criticized in the article for downgrading the image and importance of Qatar.

In recent years, Saudi Arabia and Qatar have been competing for the dominating role in the Gulf Area and GCC. As a small country, Qatar’s acts are viewed as overly arrogant from the perspective of its neighboring countries, including Saudi Arabia and the UAE. Consequently, Arabian countries’ severing ties with Qatar collectively will bring about grave implications and losses to the nation.

However, conflict will only bring negative influences to both sides and only unity can provide the opportunity for coping with challenges and striving for development. The crisis of severing ties with Qatar is expected to be resolved quickly.