QATAR FALLS FURTHER UNDER IRAN’S SPELL WITH NEW TRADE ROUTES

Tehran may allow Turkish goods to be transported across its territory to help Doha to get round boycott

Qatar is considering opening up trade routes through Iran to bring in Turkish products and circumnavigate a boycott by Arab countries.

Iran and Turkey became the two major suppliers of Qatar’s food imports after Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt severed ties with the Doha government and suspended air, sea and land transport in June.

The four countries accuse Qatar of supporting terrorist groups and attempting to destabilise the region.

The quartet also accused Qatar of increasing relations with regional arch rival Iran.

Ministers from Qatar, Turkey and Iran met in Tehran on Saturday to weigh up plans for the expansion of trade and the possibility of shipping Turkish goods to Qatar through Iran, the Iranian Tasnim news agency reported. The meeting was attended by Iran’s communications minister, Mahmoud Vaezi, Turkey’s economy minister, Nihat Zeybekci, and Qatar’s economy minister, Ahmed bin Jassim Al Thani.

Qatar has turned to Turkish products to meet demand that what was once fulfilled by Saudi Arabia, largely through its solitary land border. But the shipments of food and other products has come at significant cost. Iran has also sent shipments of food by sea.

Qatar’s foreign minister last month said his country could survive the boycott, but that it was costing “10 times as much” to import goods and continue their dealings.

“We’re thinking about alternatives for land trade routes with Qatar but the easiest way is passing through Iran,” Mr Zeybekci said.

The discussion of land routes took place after the ministers attended the oath-taking ceremony of Iran’s president-elect Hassan Rouhani on Saturday.

“We want to meet all of Qatar’s needs. We want all good providers in Turkey to sell products, including cleaning materials, domestic appliances and textiles, in Qatar,” Mr Zeybekci said.

The economy minister said trade between Turkey and Qatar had increased in June and July. “We have to make this increase permanent,” Mr Zeybecki said.

While calling for a negotiated end to the dispute, Turkey has sided with Qatar. Along with

helping to supply food and other goods, Ankara sped up the deployment of troops to a base in Qatar.

Turkey’s exports to Qatar were US$52.4 million (Dh192.5m) in June, an increase from $36.2m in May.

Mr Zeybekci said continued use of cargo planes to carry products was not sustainable. “We want to make transportation economic, sustainable and reliable,” he said.

“Shipment by sea will gain importance. We foresee that at least four large tonnage ships would go to Qatar monthly, but the land route is an alternative for carrying flexible and smaller packages,” Mr Zeybekci said.

The quartet issued 13 demands with which Qatar must comply before talks to end the dispute get under way. The demands include that Qatar expel Turkish forces and close down their military base.

They also want Qatar to close Al Jazeera, which they accuse of providing a platform for extremist groups.

Israel said yesterday that it planned to close Al Jazeera, after prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused the broadcaster of incitement.

Mr Netanyahu said last week that he wanted Al Jazeera expelled amid tensions over the Al Aqsa Mosque complex in Jerusalem.

“Al Jazeera has become the main tool of Daesh, Hamas, Hizbollah and Iran,” said communications minister Ayoob Kara, from Mr Netanyahu’s Likud party.

He accused Al Jazeera of “inciting violence that has provoked losses among the best of our sons”, referring to two Druze policemen who were killed in a July 14 attack near the Al Aqsa compound.

The communications ministry said that “nearly all countries in the region, including Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Jordan, have concluded that Al Jazeera incites terrorism and religious extremism”.

It had become “ridiculous that the channel continued to broadcast from Israel”.

The ministry said it would also demand the revocation of the credentials of journalists working for the channel and cut its cable and satellite connections.

Israeli authorities would also seek to limit access from Israel’s Arab citizens to the station’s broadcasts in Arabic, the communications ministry statement said.

Additional reporting by Agence France-Presse