Saudis turn up heat on Qatar with ultimatum as row escalates

Beleaguered Gulf state given 10 days to shut down Al-jazeera and end Iran ties or face more reprisals

SAUDI ARABIA and its allies raised the stakes in their stand-off with Qatar yesterday, giving the small Gulf state 10 days to shut down Al-jazeera and curb its ties with Iran or face unspecified consequences.

The coalition of Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the UAE and Egypt presented Qatar with a list of 13 wide-ranging demands, including calls for it to expel Turkish military forces from its territory and sever all connections with the Muslim Brotherhood.

The ultimatum said Qatar must also pay reparations to its neighbours, hand over fugitives wanted by other Middleeast states and immediately cease financing terrorist groups such as Hizbollah and al-qaeda’s Syrian affiliate.

Qatar has said it would not negotiate while the four Arab countries were imposing an economic and diplomatic blockade. Qatar confirmed early this morning that it had received the list of demands. “The state of Qatar announced its receipt of a paper, on June 22, containing demands from the seige countries and Egypt,” read a statement on Qatar News Agency, published in the early hours of this morning local time.

Saudi Arabia did not say what would happen if Qatar refused to meet its demands within 10 days, but some observers fear that the headstrong Prince Mohammed would push for an even more confrontational approach if it ignored his deadline.

Anwar Gargash, the UAE’S foreign minister, said Qatar leaked the demands and accused it of being a “Trojan horse” for extremists and Iran. “It would be wiser that [Qatar] deal seriously with the demands and concerns of the neighbours or a divorce will take place,” he added.

Analysts said the demands were so broad they were probably meant as an opening move in a negotiation and that Saudi Arabia and its allies would narrow down the ultimatum over time.

“Saudi Arabia and UAE know Qatar won’t accept the list of demands as offered,” said Michael Stephens, a research fellow at the Royal United Services Institute. “Perhaps the idea is that these demands are a starting point for negotiation on more core issues.”

Boris Johnson, the Foreign Secretary, appeared to subtly criticise the scope of the Saudi ultimatum, saying that Gulf states should be “measured and realistic” in their demands.

“The UK calls upon the Gulf states to find a way of de-escalating the situation and lifting the current embargo and restrictions, which are having a real impact on the everyday lives of people in the region,” he said.

The White House last night said the diplomatic crisis between Qatar and other Arab nations was a “family issue” that the nations should work out among themselves. Sean Spicer, the White House spokesman, said the US was willing to play a “facilitating role” in the discussion.

Al-jazeera, which is wholly owned

‘It’s a bit like Germany demanding Britain close down the BBC. It’s almost unprecedented, it’s bizarre’

by the Qatari state, struck a defiant note in the face of calls for the closure of both its English and Arabic services, saying it was “an attempt to silence the freedom of expression in the region”.

“It’s a big neighbour muscling in on a small neighbour,” said Giles Trendle, managing editor of Al-jazeera English. “It’s a bit like Germany demanding Britain close down the BBC. It’s almost unprecedented, it’s very bizarre.”

Mr Trendle told The Daily Telegraph the network had not received any private assurances from Qatar about its future, but was encouraged by earlier statements from the Qatari foreign minister saying that Al-jazeera would not be used as a bargaining chip.

The United Nations aviation agency will hold a special hearing on Friday on Qatar’s request to reopen Gulf airspace to its flights, its transport minister said. Jassim Saif Al Sulaiti said the Gulf state wants the International Civil Aviation Organization to open international air routes over Gulf waters currently managed by the United Arab Emirates.