The United Arab Emirates (UAE) threatened to impose an economic embargo against Qatar while Bahrain said “any options” were on the table as the crisis in the Gulf showed no signs of abating on Thursday. The tough talk from the Gulf Cooperation Council members came on Wednesday despite efforts by US President Donald Trump and … Read more
President Donald Trump called Qatar’s emir Wednesday and offered his services as a mediator in a damaging feud between the emirate and its Gulf neighbors. Trump’s call to Qatari ruler Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, a key US ally, came a day after he accused the country of funding terror. ‘The president offered to … Read more
President Donald Trump spoke to Qatar’s emir on Wednesday, offering US mediation in a crisis that has split Washington’s allies and pushed regional powers toward confrontation. “The President offered to help the parties resolve their differences, including through a meeting at the White House if necessary,” the White House said. Trump spoke to Sheikh Tamim … Read more
Kuwait’s Emir Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad Al-Sabah met Emirati officials in Dubai on Wednesday, a day after holding talks in Saudi Arabia aimed at resolving a diplomatic crisis with Qatar. The emir held talks with Dubai’s ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum, who is also vice president and prime minister of the United Arab Emirates, and … Read more
A senior Emirati official insisted on Wednesday that Gulf Arab states were not seeking regime change in Doha, as tensions built in a bitter feud between Qatar and its neighbours. Speaking to AFP in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates’ state minister for foreign affairs Anwar Gargash accused Qatar of being “the main champion of extremism … Read more
US President Donald Trump has called the king of Saudi Arabia to urge Gulf unity amid an escalating dispute over Qatar’s alleged support for militants. “His message was that we need unity in the region to fight extremist ideology and terrorist financing,” a US official told Reuters news agency. Earlier, he said the Saudis’ move … Read more
Qatar must “change their policies” and stop supporting “extremist groups”, the Saudi foreign minister said Tuesday in Paris, a day after his nation and its allies cut off ties with the Gulf state. “They have to change their policies” and “stop supporting extremist groups,” Adel Al-Jubeir told reporters, adding that Qatar needed “to act like … Read more
In a series of morning tweets, President Donald Trump threw Washington’s relations with Doha into deep crisis on Tuesday and raised doubts about the future of the largest US air base in the Middle East. Trump publicly accused key regional ally Qatar of funding extremism, while tacitly backing a blockade of the emirate, home to … Read more
Here are the main developments that led to the unprecedented crisis between Qatar and its Gulf neighbours: On May 20, 2017, Qatar says it is the victim of a smear campaign and rejects accusations of it supporting “terrorism” ahead of a landmark visit by US President Donald Trump to Saudi Arabia. Trump and Saudi King … Read more
US President Donald Trump has claimed credit for the pressure being placed on Qatar by Gulf neighbours who accuse it of supporting terrorism in the region. Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the UAE, Yemen, Libya’s eastern-based government and the Maldives have all cut diplomatic and other ties with Qatar. Mr Trump said he was told during his … Read more
A ban on Qatari flights imposed by Saudi Arabia and its allies took effect Tuesday as first efforts were made to resolve the biggest feud to hit the Arab world in years. Saudi Arabia and allies including Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain cut diplomatic ties and transport links with Qatar on Monday, accusing … Read more
Egypt is closing its airspace to Qatari planes in a growing diplomatic row, with Saudi Arabia and Bahrain expected to do the same on Tuesday. Several countries have cut ties with Qatar, accusing it of supporting terrorism in the Gulf region. Qatari nationals in Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and the UAE have been given two weeks … Read more
Qatari planes are to be banned from Egyptian and Saudi air space, as a growing diplomatic row in the Gulf threatens large-scale air disruption. Several countries have cut ties with the tiny Gulf state over accusations of supporting extremism in the region. Air, land and sea links have been halted to the country from Saudi … Read more
Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, emboldened by US President Donald Trump’s new approach to the region, have seized the chance to isolate Qatar, analysts said Monday. Gas-rich Doha, which has long exercised an independent streak in its foreign policy, last month denied comments which appeared on its official news agency questioning US hostility … Read more
Six Arab countries including Saudi Arabia and Egypt have cut diplomatic ties with Qatar, accusing it of destabilising the region. They say Qatar backs militant groups including so-called Islamic State (IS) and al-Qaeda, which Qatar denies. The Saudi state news agency SPA said Riyadh had closed its borders, severing land, sea and air contact with … Read more
Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates have cut diplomatic ties with Qatar, accusing it of destabilising the region. They say Qatar backs terrorist groups including Islamic State (IS). The Saudi state news agency SPA said Riyadh had closed its borders, severing land, sea and air contact with Qatar and largely isolating it. … Read more
Gulf states on Monday cut diplomatic ties with neighbouring Qatar and kicked it out of a military coalition, less than a month after US President Donald Trump visited the region to cement ties with powerhouse Saudi Arabia. In the region’s most serious diplomatic crisis in years, Qatar’s Gulf neighbours Riyadh, Bahrain and the United Arab … Read more
The FBI is helping Qatar investigate the source of an alleged “hack” of state media which sparked diplomatic tensions in the Gulf, a source with knowledge of the probe said Friday. An FBI team has been in Doha for the past week after the Qatari government asked for US help following the claim of an … Read more
Qatar has deported a Saudi human rights activist who was on his way to Norway where he hoped to seek asylum, a watchdog said on Monday. Mohammed al-Otaibi, 49, fled to neighbouring Qatar in March after he had faced in Saudi Arabia charges related to his human rights work and was referred to an anti-terrorism … Read more
The alleged hack on Qatar’s state news agency may have lasted just four hours, but the impact on already tense ties between Gulf rivals could last a lot longer. Doha launched an inquiry and went into damage control after accusing hackers of publishing false remarks attributed to Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani on state … Read more