Tabnak – In a move surprising to many observers
around the world, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt have cut diplomatic
ties and all land sea and air contacts with Qatar. Meanwhile, Iran has asked
the Persian Gulf states to use dialogue to resolve their differences.
Riyadh took the lead on Monday to sever relations
and other countries fell in line after an official source said the kingdom
"urges all brotherly countries and companies to do the same."
A Saudi official cited by SPA said the country
decided to "sever diplomatic and consular ties with Qatar, and to close
all land, sea and aviation ports" in order to "protect its national
security from the dangers of terrorism and extremism." The
"decisive" measure, the Saudi statement said, was due to "gross
violations committed by authorities in Qatar over the past years."
Later on the day, it was announced that Libya and
Maldives had also joined the list of nations to cut diplomatic ties with Qatar.
Libya raised charges against Doha as the "main source of supplying weapons
to the Libyan branch of the Muslim Brotherhood and other armed Islamist groups
since 2012 and poses a threat to the national security of the Arab world."
Meanwhile, Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman
Bahram Qassemi expressed Tehran’s concern over a decision by some Arab nations
to sever diplomatic ties with Qatar, calling on the Arab states to exercise
restraint.
In a statement released on Monday, Qassemi urged
the four Arab states to resolve the tensions through "direct and transparent”
talks instead of severing diplomatic ties.
"At a time when the (Middle East) region
and the world are still suffering from broad consequences of terrorism and
extremism and the continued occupation of Palestine by the Zionist regime, the
escalation of tensions in relations between neighboring countries is not in the
interest of any regional nations or governments,” he said.
Scott Bennett, a former US army psychological
warfare officer and counter-terrorism analyst said to Tasnim News Agency that the
reason Saudi Arabia has cut its ties with Qatar is because Doha has decided to
shift its "political agenda” and is no longer interested in the kingdom’s
"agenda of war” in the region.
At the same time, Abdel Bari Atwan, the
editor-in-chief of Rai al-Youm newspaper, underlined that cutting diplomatic
relations with Doha by four Arab states is a prelude for launching military
strikes against the Qatari government. "The next step may be military
intervention for regime change in Qatar as this is a war that has been planned
several months ago," the senior Arab analyst wrote on his Twitter page on
Monday.
On the other hand, a senior Iranian lawmaker said
on Monday that the latest dispute among Arab countries in the region was rooted
in US interference, adding that Tehran had always opposed meddling by foreign
powers in regional affairs.
"The first outcome of US President Donald Trump's
visit to the [Middle East] region was the emergence of divisions among regional
countries," Chairman of the Iranian Parliament's Committee on National
Security and Foreign Policy Alaeddin Boroujerdi said.
However, it seems that Israel is the only pleased
party under the current circumstances. The Israeli media are already
celebrating over the diplomatic rift between the Saudis and the Qataris with
some outlets already calling on officials in Tel Aviv to make the best of what
they are portraying of Qatar’s isolation and its lost ties with Hamas.
However, it seems that we should still wait and
see what Qatar has actually planned to do against the latest developments. It
could have a real significant effect on the future of alignments in the region.
