Qatar Emir stirs controversy by defending Iran and Hezbollah

Doha-based broadcaster Al Jazeera has been blocked by the UAE and Saudi Arabia in response to the emir’s statements

Qatar Emir Shaikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al Thani said his country is facing an unjust campaign that coincided with the visit by US President Donald Trump to the region that aimed to link it with terrorism and tarnish its efforts to achieve stability.

“The motives of the campaign are well-known and we will pursue the countries and organisations behind them in order to protect Qatar’s leading role regionally and internationally,” Shaikh Tamim said as he attended a graduation ceremony of national service recruits on Tuesday.

“We deplore the accusation against us that we support terrorism. The real danger is the behaviour of some governments that caused terrorism by adopting an extremist version of Islam that does not reflect its tolerance,” the emir was quoted as saying by the Qatar News Agency (QNA).

Shaikh Tamim said nobody had the right to accuse Qatar of terrorism just because the Muslim Brotherhood has been labelled a terrorist organisation.

He added that one has the right to reject the resistance status of Hamas and Hezbollah, as well.

The emir called on “the brothers” in Egypt, the UAE and Bahrain to end their continuous anti-Qatar campaigns.

“Qatar does not interfere in the internal affairs of any country no matter how much it deprived its people of their freedom and rights,” he added.

Shaikh Tamim said Qatar’s relations with the US were good despite the problematic new administration.

“However, we believe the situation will change because of the judicial investigations into the president’s abuses.”

Qatar has succeeded in building strong relations with the US and Iran at the same time “because it is unwise to escalate the situation with Iran”, Shaikh Tamim said.

Shaikh Tamim called for devoting attention to development and tackling poverty instead of engaging in exaggerated arms deals that increased tension in the region.

Qatar’s Emir

Damage control

However, Qatar later said that the statements attributed to Shaikh Tamim were false.

“The Qatar News Agency website has been hacked by an unknown entity,” reported the Government Communications Office in a statement.

It added that an investigation would be launched into the security breach.

The Doha-based broadcaster Al Jazeera was blocked in the UAE and Saudi Arabia.

An analyst on the Saudi state news channel, Al Akhbariya, called Shaikh Tamim’s alleged remarks as “political adolescence”.