05 June, 2017
Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and Yemen joined Saudi Arabia and Egypt in severing relations with gas-rich Qatar, with Riyadh accusing Doha of supporting groups, including some backed by Iran, "that aim to destabilise the region".
Ties between Saudi Arabia, the bastion of Sunni Islam as well as a loyal ally of the White House, and Iran, the Shia power close to the Kremlin, have been broken since they support each other's enemies in proxy wars in Syria, Iraq and Yemen.
Gulf Arab states and Egypt have already long resented Qatar's support for extremists, especially the Muslim Brotherhood which they regard as a unsafe political enemy. Yemen and Libya also followed suit.
Qatar, which has been known as a mediator for many regional disputes, is now drawn into serious disputes amid growing tensions between Saudi Arabia and Iran over mutual accusations of sponsoring terrorism.
"(Qatar) embraces multiple terrorist and sectarian groups aimed at disturbing stability in the region, including the Muslim Brotherhood, ISIS (Islamic State) and al-Qaeda, and promotes the message and schemes of these groups through their media constantly", Saudi state news agency SPA said.
It accused Qatar of supporting what it described as Iranian-backed militants in its restive and largely Shi'ite Muslim-populated Eastern region of Qatif and in Bahrain.
Iran saw America pulling the strings.
NPR's David Welna, who is traveling with Tillerson and Mattis, notes that the rift among US allies "comes just 10 days after President Trump addressed an anti-terrorism summit of Arab leaders in Saudi Arabia, and some see Trump's siding there with Sunni monarchs and his rhetoric against Iran as having given a kind of green light to blackballing this Gulf nation".
Trump and other USA officials participated in a traditional sword dance during the trip in which he called on Muslim countries to stand united against Islamist extremists and singled out Iran as a key source of funding and support for militant groups.
Rex Tillerson, the US Secretary of State, issued a statement of support for diplomatic assistance to the nations, saying it is important the countries "remain unified." It wasn't immediately clear how that would affect Qatar Airways, one of the region's major long-haul carriers.
"The decision to severe ties with Qatar makes it inevitable for Doha to foster Iran ties", Sadegh Zibakalam, a renowned political analyst and professor at Tehran University, told Trend.
As the UAE site The National reports, "Qatar imports 90 percent of its food, mostly through the land border with Saudi Arabia". At that time, travel links were maintained and Qataris were not expelled.
After the cuts were announced, Qatar blamed Egypt and said the goal of isolating the country is "the imposition of guardianship over the State".