UAE minister rejects Qatar’s hack claim
LONDON/WASHINGTON: The UAE’s minister of state for foreign affairs Monday denied the country was behind the alleged hacking of Qatar’s official news site and warned the feud with Doha could take a long time to resolve.
Anwar bin Mohammed Gargash disputed a Washington Post report that claimed the UAE had orchestrated a hack to post incendiary false quotes attributed to the Qatari emir. The publication of the quotes was followed by a boycott of Qatar by the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Egypt.
The minister said it was one of a number of false claims that had been made about the country, in response to a question from the audience at Chatham House in London, where he delivered a speech on Monday morning.
Analysts said the speech by the UAE minister in London reflects how both sides in the dispute are making great efforts to win the media war around the crisis.
In Washington, the UAE’s Ambassador Yousef Al-Otaiba also denied The Washington Post report.
The UAE Embassy in Washington responded to the article in a series of tweets posted early Monday morning, saying that “the @washingtonpost story is false. UAE had no role whatsoever in the alleged hacking described in the article” in comments attributed to the ambassador.
Al-Otaiba instead stated that “What is true is Qatar’s behavior. Funding, supporting and enabling extremists from the Taliban to Hamas & Qaddafi... Inciting violence, encouraging radicalization and undermining the stability of its neighbors.”
Experts, too, dismissed The Washington Post report as flimsy. Oubai Shahbandar, a SyrianAmerican analyst and fellow at the New America Foundation’s International Security Program, told Arab News, “The Washington Post article is thinly sourced with no credible evidence presented to back up the accusation.”
Saudi Arabia’s Cabinet lauded the position of Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the UAE, and Bahrain. The Cabinet said the current measures against Qatar would continue until it commits to meeting all demands requested by the four countries.