06 June, 2017
After Saudi Arabia and other Arab powers severed diplomatic ties and shut down land, sea and air links with the energy-rich nation, Northwestern University, Texas A&M University, Georgetown University, Virginia Commonwealth University said they were keeping their Qatar faculty and students informed while summer classes continued.
Qatar, home to about 10,000 USA troops and the host of the 2022 FIFA World Cup, criticized the move as a "violation of its sovereignty".
While restrictions have been imposed on state-owned Qatar Airways, there are no curbs imposed by the countries on carriers from India and other nations.
While Qatar has joined the USA coalition against IS, the Qatari government has repeatedly denied accusations from Iraq's Shia leaders that it provided financial support to IS.
The national airline, Qatar Airways, meanwhile has suspended its flights to Saudi Arabia.
Qataris living in the four countries have been given 14 days to return home, with Qatar's diplomats also set to be ejected.
The federal government's last update said there was no nationwide advisory in effect for Qatar, but recommended a "high degree of caution" due to regional threats of terrorist attacks.
However, Qatar insists that the crisis has been fuelled by "absolute fabrications" - with the foreign affairs ministry saying there is "no legitimate justification" for the decision. And Saudi Arabia closed its land border, cutting off much of the food imports into Qatar and leading to a run on supermarkets there. Qatar Airways' presence in Saudi Arabia is the largest of any global airline.
The UAE and Qatar are both members of the six-country Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), to which Saudi Arabia and Bahrain also belong.
"Flights to Doha operating as per schedule".
Some Gulf news coverage seemed to support regime change in Qatar, and accused its emir of holding a secret meeting with Iranian Revolutionary Guard commander Gen. Qassem Soleimani. It wasn't immediately clear how today's announcement would affect Qatar Airways, one of the region's major long- haul carriers that routinely flies through Saudi airspace. The country has only around 270,000 citizens, but is the world's biggest producer of liquefied natural gas, sharing a vast underwater field with Iran.
Qatar is home to the sprawling al-Udeid Air Base, which is home to the forward headquarters of the USA military's Central Command. "The university will offer any necessary assistance to any members of our community who may be affected", the university said in a statement.
There was no immediate word from Kuwait and Oman on Monday on their ties with Qatar.
They say Qatar backs militant groups including so-called Islamic State (IS) and al-Qaeda, which Qatar denies. A change in leadership could raise questions about the future of the US base and potentially deprive Hamas of its main benefactor. US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said the move was rooted in long-standing differences and urged the parties to resolve them. The hack, according to Qatar, included fake remarks by emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani calling Iran "a regional and Islamic power that can not be ignored". Its Gulf Arab neighbours responded by blocking Qatari-based media, including Al-Jazeera.
According to Doha, "baseless" allegations that it supports terrorism are being used to tarnish the image and unity of the Gulf states.
The former army chief and now President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, along with the new government's allies in Saudi Arabia and the UAE, blacklist the Brotherhood as a terrorist organization. "In 2014, it was a diplomatic crisis".
Qatar are now bottom of their qualifying group, with only South Korea, Syria and China to play. However, it remains a key patron of the Islamic Hamas movement, which rules the Gaza Strip. The UAE also accused Qatar of "harbouring extremists".
