Desert storm

Last week, several Arab countries broke ties with Qatar, plunging the Gulf into one of the biggest diplomatic crises in recent history

WHY HAVE THEY CUT TIES?

Tensions between Qatar and its neighbours have grown in recent years

Qatar is accused of backing Islamist movements in the Middle East in the wake of the Arab Spring uprisings

The influence of the Doha-funded Al-Jazeera news channel is resented by other governments

A Qatar news agency published a story questioning the fate of Donald Trump's presidency and the region’s hostility toward Iran. The story was later found to be planted by hackers, allegedly from Russia

WHAT NEXT? THE GULF "FORGIVES" QATAR

Kuwait, which is negotiating a truce between Qatar and its neighbours, will have to convince them that Doha will end support for movements like the Muslim Brotherhood and reign in Al-Jazeera

QATAR TURNS TO IRAN, TURKEY

If Qatar's isolation is prolonged, Doha might turn to Tehran for imports of food and other goods, increasing its dependency on Iran. Turkey, which is flexing its muscles in the region, won't be far behind

REGIME CHANGE IN DOHA

If no solution is reached, a sponsored coup may be attempted — Bahrain and Saudi have been accused of being behind a failed attempt as recently as 1996. An invasion is also possible, but far less probable, given the fact that US has one of its largest airbases in the Middle East in Qatar