Qatar row: Sympathisers to get jail, Trump calls up emir
DOHA: The United Arab Emirates on Wednesday threatened those expressing sympathy towards Qatar with up to 15 years in prison.
UAE minister of state for foreign affairs Anwar Gargash warned of more curbs if necessary and said Qatar needed to make ironclad commitments to change what critics say is a policy on funding Islamist militants. The UAE, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Bahrain severed diplomatic ties with Qatar on Monday over allegations that Doha is courting Iran, which they deem the region’s biggest external threat, and supporting Islamist groups.
Qatar vehemently denies the allegations. It drew some apparent support on Wednesday with Turkey saying it would fast-track troop deployments to a base in Qatar and provide crucial food and water supplies to the emirate.
Iran, itself reeling from an attack by Islamic State militants that killed at least 12 people on Wednesday, has called for dialogue to solve the regional rupture, and its foreign minister was visiting the region to that end.
US President Donald Trump took sides in the rift on Tuesday, praising the actions against Qatar, but on Wednesday, spoke by telephone with Qatar’s ruler Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, and expressed readiness to find a solution to the crisis. He had also spoken with Saudi King Salman, stressing the need for Gulf unity.
His defence secretary, James Mattis, also spoke to his Qatari counterpart to express commitment to the Gulf region’s security. Qatar hosts 8,000 US troops at al Udeid, the largest US air base in the Middle East and a launchpad for US-led strikes on Islamic State jihadists.
Kuwaiti Emir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah shuttled between UAE and Qatar on Wednesday as part of efforts to mediate, having met the Saudi king on Tuesday.
The sudden isolation has spurred Qatar to hold talks with Turkey, Iran and others to secure food and water supplies.
Moscow on Wednesday dismissed allegations that Russian hackers helped spark the diplomatic crisis around Qatar, after CNN reported that US officials believed they planted a false news story. “We’re getting tired of reacting to unsubstantiated banalities,” Andrei Krutskikh, a Kremlin advisor, told the Interfax news agency. AGENCIES