06 June, 2017
The cartel recently agreed to limit production for another nine months, but a proxy fight between Iran and Saudi Arabia could make it hard to coordinate among their respective allies.
Apprehension prevails among the Kerala diaspora in West Asia, with several Gulf States, including Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, severing diplomatic ties with the oil-rich Qatar.
Bahrain, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates cut ties with Qatar after accusing the nation of supporting terrorism, a claim they have denied. Yemen, the internationally recognized eastern-based government of Libya and the Maldives joined in later.
The diplomatic broadside threatens the worldwide prestige of Qatar, which hosts a large USA military base and is set to host the 2022 World Cup.
Qatar is home to the the largest US air base in the Middle East, from where the USA commands the anti-ISIS air campaign.
The pulling of diplomatic relations follows a visit to Saudi Arabia last month by American President Donald Trump.
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 announcing the decision to cut ties, Saudi Arabia accused Qatar of providing support to Shi'ite Iran, which is in a tussle for regional supremacy with Riyadh, and to Islamist militants.
Announcing the closure of transport ties with Qatar, the three Gulf states gave Qatari visitors and residents two weeks to leave. Local media in Qatar reported there was already some panic buying as people stock up on food.
The statement attributed cutting ties with Qatar to the state's promotion of extremist thoughts of al-Qaeda and the Islamic State, its support for terrorist operations in Sinai, as well as its intervention in Egypt's internal affairs in a way that threatens its national security. It also banned Saudi commercial and private air operators from serving Qatar.
Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif also urged Qatar and its neighbors to talk.
The Qatari diplomatic crisis could considerably undermine the operations of the US -led coalition to fight extremist groups in the region, while calls to eradicate militants from the Middle East became one of the highlights of Trump's speech during visit to Saudi Arabia last month.
"Using sanctions in today's integrated world is inefficient, to be condemned and unacceptable", Ghasemi added of Qatar's neighbours closing all land, sea and air links with it.
In the aftermath of the Gulf War in 1991, the USA and Qatar signed a military cooperation agreement, which deepened military ties between the countries.
But the bottom line, Roberts notes, is "there's been a feeling for decades that Qatar is an individually focused state doing what it wants to do, and hasn't paid enough attention to GCC security issues".
However the crisis is resolved, if at all, Tillerson and Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said in Sydney, after talks with their Australian counterparts, that it would not undermine the fight against the Islamic State. Qatar is the world's largest exporter of liquefied natural gas, shipping 15% of Japan's LNG imports.
