Saudi-led sanctions on Qatar splits West Asia Iran, Turkey back Doha; Trump pats Riyadh

Arab nations including Saudi Arabia and Egypt on Monday cut ties with Qatar in the biggest diplomatic crisis to hit the region in years, which split the West Asia into two camps.

Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Yemen and the Maldives joined Saudi Arabia and Egypt in severing relations with gas-rich Qatar, accusing Doha of supporting terror groups “that aim to destabilise the region”.

Qatar reacted with fury, denying any support for extremists and accusing its Gulf neighbours of seeking to put the country under “guardianship”.

The Gulf states banned their citizens from travelling to Qatar and ordered Qatari citizens to leave within 14 days. Saudi Arabia also closed its borders with Qatar, blocking food and other supplies.

Turkey and Iran backed Qatar and offered to provide food to Doha, where panicky citizens have been sweeping supermarket shelves clean.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan moved swiftly to get authorisation for his parliament to dispatch troops to Qatar.

According to analysts, a military base in Qatar is important for the Turkish power projection as the country does not have presence in the crucial Indian Ocean.

The announcement to cut off ties with Qatar came less than a month after US President Donald Trump visited Saudi Arabia and called for a united front among Muslim countries against extremism.

Saudi Arabia also accuses Qatar of having a softer approach towards its regional rival Iran, which it considers as an existential threat.

The Saudis, who are predominantly Sunnis, detest Iranians, who belong to the Shia sect of Islam.

The sanctions followed weeks of rising tensions between Doha and its neighbours, including Qatari accusations of a concerted media campaign against it and the alleged hacking of the Qatar News Agency.