REDUCE IRAN TIES, DOHA TOLD

Gulf countries also want Qatar to close Al Jazeera TV

FOUR Arab states boycotting Qatar over alleged support for terrorism have sent Doha a list of 13 demands, including closing Al Jazeera television and reducing ties to their regional adversary Iran, an official of one of the four countries said.

The demands aimed at ending the worst Gulf Arab crisis appear designed to quash a two-decadeold foreign policy, in which Qatar has punched well above its weight, striding the stage as a peace broker, often in conflicts in Muslim lands.

Doha’s independent-minded approach, including a dovish line on Iran and support for Islamist groups, has incensed some of its neighbours who see political Islamism as a threat to their dynastic rule.

The list, compiled by Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Bahrain, which cut economic, diplomatic and travel ties to Doha on June 5, also demands the closing of a Turkish military base in Qatar.

Qatar must announce it is severing ties with terrorist, ideological and sectarian organisations, including the Muslim Brotherhood, Islamic State, alQaeda, Hizbollah, and Jabhat Fateh al Sham, formerly al-Qaeda’s branch in Syria, and surrender designated terrorists on its territory.

The four Arab countries accuse Qatar of funding terrorism, fomenting regional instability and cosying up to revolutionary theocracy Iran. Qatar has denied the accusations.

On Monday, Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani said Qatar would not negotiate with the four states unless they lifted their measures against Doha.

The countries gave Doha 10 days to comply.

The demands, handed to Qatar by mediator Kuwait, also require that Qatar stop interfering in the four countries’ domestic and foreign affairs, and stop a practice of giving Qatari nationality to citizens of the four countries, said the official.

Qatar must pay reparations to these countries for any damage or costs incurred over the past few years because of Qatari policies, he said.

Any resulting agreement to comply with the demands will be monitored, with monthly reports in the first year, then every three months the next year, then annually for 10 years, the official said without elaborating.

United States President Donald Trump has taken a tough stance on Qatar, accusing it of being a “high level” sponsor of terrorism, but he has also offered help to the parties in the dispute to resolve their differences.

Turkey has backed Qatar during the three-week-old crisis.

It sent its first ship carrying food aid to Qatar and despatched a small contingent of soldiers and armoured vehicles there on Thursday, while President Tayyip Erdogan spoke with Saudi Arabia’s leaders on calming tension in the region.

Qatar-based broadcaster AlJazeera responded yesterday, saying that any move to shut it down was an attack on media freedom.

“We in the network believe that any call for closing down AlJazeera is nothing but an attempt to silence the freedom of expression in the region and to suppress people’s right to information,” the broadcaster said.

It added that it “deplores” calls for its closure.