Several Arab countries cut diplomatic ties with Qatar; Doha criticizes

Malawi and the Yemeni government joined Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates in cutting diplomatic ties with Qatar on Monday. Meanwhile, the government based in Benghazi, eastern Libya, also cut ties with Doha on Monday. Qatar has criticized the move, describing it as “unjustified.”

Previously, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates said they would sever diplomatic relations with Qatar over what they called its "support for terrorism" or "to protect their national security."

The Yemeni government also said it was cutting ties with Qatar over its cooperation with the Shiite Houthi group, which controls the capital, Sanaa, and parts of Yemen.

Previously, Bahrain said in a statement that it had cut off all sea and air ties with Qatar and given Qatari citizens 14 days to leave Bahrain.

At the same time, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and the United Arab Emirates issued similar statements.

In a statement released by Saudi Arabia, Qatar was accused of supporting "terrorist groups such as the Muslim Brotherhood and Al-Qaeda, as well as the Islamic State group."

Saudi Arabia also said it was cutting diplomatic ties and all land, sea and air routes with Qatar. The statement said the move was in "order to preserve the territorial integrity guaranteed by international law, and to protect national security against the dangers posed by terrorism and extremism." Saudi Arabia also said it had asked Qatari military forces to withdraw from the coalition fighting in Yemen.

In this regard, the United Arab Emirates accused Qatari diplomats of "supporting, financing, and advocating for terrorism, fundamentalism, and sectarianism" and gave them 48 hours to leave the UAE.

The Egyptian Foreign Ministry also announced that it had closed all its air and sea routes to all Qatari traffic "due to national security."

In this regard, Saudi Arabian Airlines, Etihad and Flydubai suspended flights to Doha, the capital of Qatar. Qatar Airways also announced that it had suspended its flights to Saudi Arabia.

Meanwhile, according to Reuters, the Qatari stock market fell by about eight percent in the first hour of trading on Monday.

In contrast, Doha expressed regret on Monday over the severance of relations between these countries and Qatar, saying that the decision was made based on false and baseless claims.

Qatar's statement said that these countries had violated its sovereignty.

Meanwhile, Pakistan's Foreign Ministry announced that it has no immediate plans to sever diplomatic relations with Qatar.

The severance of relations between these five countries and Qatar came at a time when, in recent days, the Emir of Qatar had emphasized "strengthening cooperation with Tehran" in a telephone conversation with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani.

According to the state-run IRNA news agency on June 27, Hassan Rouhani, in a call with Sheikh Tamim Hamad Al Thani, emphasized solving regional problems and described "sectarianism as a major scourge" and "a threat to regional security."

Three days before the phone call, there had been signs of rising tensions between Arab countries and Qatar, tensions that had erupted after the publication of statements attributed to the country's emir. In the news, attributed to Sheikh Tamim Hamad Al Thani, it was stated that Iran was "an Islamic power" and that "there is no rationality" in animating it.

The Emir of Qatar was also quoted as saying that the country's relations with Israel were at a "good level" and that Qatar had recalled its ambassadors from Bahrain, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates due to "tensions" with the administration of US President Donald Trump.

Hours later, the Qatari government said the news was "fake" and that the country's official news agency had been "targeted by hackers."

These quotes, which the Qatari government says are fake, were published after US President Donald Trump strongly criticized Iran during his visit to Saudi Arabia and meeting with the leaders of Islamic countries, alongside Saudi King Salman.

Subsequently, Bahrain and Egypt, along with Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, blocked access to the Al Jazeera news network website and some other Qatari sites on June 25.

Also, on June 4, a day before the news of the severance of relations with Qatar was published, the foreign ministers of Egypt and Saudi Arabia met in Cairo, where it was said that the two sides exchanged views on cooperation in combating terrorism and efforts to bring their views closer on the conflicts in Yemen and Syria.

Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Bahrain recalled their ambassadors from Egypt and Syria in 2013 following tensions surrounding Qatar-backed groups in that country.

Meanwhile, Reuters reported that the severance of relations between five Arab countries and Qatar will damage the international image of the country, which is scheduled to host the 2024 World Cup.

Source: Radio Farda