06 June, 2017
Singapore- Saudi Arabia and key allies on Monday cut ties with Qatar, accusing it of supporting extremism, sending shockwaves through the energy industry as the countries involved include the world's top oil and liquefied natural gas (LNG) exporters.
The diplomatic broadside threatens the worldwide prestige of Qatar, which hosts a large United States military base and is set to host the 2022 World Cup.
Tensions between Qatar and Saudi Arabia - a Middle East heavyweight - bubbled to the surface two weeks ago when Qatar said its state-run news agency and its Twitter account were hacked to publish a fake story claiming the emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, had called Iran "a regional and Islamic power that can not be ignored".
In the wake of the announcement, United States Ambassador to Qatar Dana Shell Smith retweeted two of the US embassy's previous tweets about Qatar's cooperation with the United States in the fight against terrorism. Saudi Arabia is the closest US ally in the region, and Qatar is home to al-Udeid Air Base and nearly 10,000 USA troops.
The Arab world's strongest powers cut ties with Qatar on Monday over alleged support for extremists and Iran, re-opening a festering wound two weeks after US President Donald Trump's demand for Muslim states to fight terrorism.
All the nations also said they planned to cut air and sea traffic. The Qatar Stock Exchange fell more than 7 per cent.
At a deeper level, this means that Qatar Airways will no longer be able to fly to Europe and the USA through Saudi and Egyptian airspace. The maritime ports and the airfield will remain open for imports, transit, and flights to all countries except the ones that closed their borders and airspace access. Saudi Arabia said it would begin blocking all Qatari flights at midnight.
Egypt severed diplomatic ties with Qatar on accusations of supporting terrorist organisations, the Egyptian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
"The government had already taken the necessary measures and precautions to ensure that normal life continues", a statement from the Qatari Cabinet said.
The diplomatic rift has wreaked havoc with airlines in the region, with major long-haul carriers such as Doha-based Qatar Airways and Dubai's Emirates suspending flights, leaving many passengers stranded at airports in the Gulf.
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.
US President Donald Trump joins a ceremonial sword dance with Saudi King Salman during his visit to Riyadh last month
Qatar was also expelled from a Saudi-led coalition fighting in Yemen.
The diplomatic dispute comes as the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), of which Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Qatar are members, recently agreed to extend crude oil production cuts in an effort to prop up prices.
Like India, Russia too said the diplomatic crisis was an internal affair.
Qatar is home to the al-Udeid Air Base, the USA military base that controls the airstrike campaign against ISIS. It is, however, still unclear if the boycott would affect the United States' military operations in the Middle East.
"I think what we're witnessing is a growing list of disbelief in the countries for some time, and they've bubbled up to take action in order to have those differences addressed."
Some Egyptian media poked fun at Qatar's ruling emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani.
Ismail sought to reassure energy markets that the decision would not affect Egypt's liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports, saying that several worldwide companies allow it to meets its gas requirements.
The Qataris insisted that the comments were the work of hackers who broke into the website of the Qatar state news agency and called for an investigation. Its Gulf Arab neighbors responded with anger, blocking Qatari-based media, including the Doha-based satellite news network Al-Jazeera. One resident, Mohamed Hasehm, told Reuters: "Cutting relations is a must because Qatar, Turkey and Iran support the terrorism that we face".
Muslim Brotherhood groups allied to Doha are now mostly on the backfoot in the region, especially after a 2013 military takeover in Egypt ousted the elected Islamist president.
Three years ago, several Gulf states withdrew their ambassadors from Qatar for nine months over the country's support for the Brotherhood. Qatar is also accused of having links to a group formerly known as the Nusra Front, an al-Qaeda affiliate.
