Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, United Arab Emirates and Yemen have severed diplomatic ties with Qatar, accusing it of fuelling crisis and causing instability in the region. The five mainly Arab counties say Doha supports Iranian spearheaded terrorism in the region.
The cutting of ties with Qatar by the Arab countries comes after comments attributed to Qatari emir Sheikh Tamin bin Hamad Al Thani was leaked online by unknown persons. Qatar denied the disputed comments, claiming it is fake and appeared after hackers took control of the state news agency website.
The statement harped on many sensitive regional issues, moreover, it praised Iran and criticized Saudi Arabia, Iran’s arch-rival. The statement also claimed that Doha has a good relationship with Israel. The comments equally had favorable words for Hezbollah, a Lebanese Shia militant movement. The group is supported by the predominantly Shia Tehran.
Though Doha said the statements were ‘fabricated’ the five Gulf States have cut ties with Qatar. Qatar called the decision “unjustified and with no basis in fact”.
The diplomatic withdrawal was put into motion by Bahrain then Saudi Arabia early on Monday. Their allies swiftly followed.
Saudi officials say the decision was taken to "protect its national security from the dangers of terrorism and extremism".
The three Gulf countries have given Qatari nationals two weeks to leave their territory.
Other actions taken to further severe diplomatic ties include:
- UAE airlines Etihad Airways, Emirates and Flydubai said they would suspend all flights to and from Qatari capital Doha from early Tuesday, local time.
- The Gulf allies said they had closed their airspace to Qatar Airways.
- Bahrain's state news agency said it was cutting its ties because Qatar was "shaking the security and stability of Bahrain and meddling in its affairs"
- The Saudi-led Arab coalition fighting Yemen's Houthi rebels also expelled Qatar from its alliance because of its "practices that strengthen terrorism" and its support to groups "including al-Qaeda and Daesh [IS], as well as dealing with the rebel militias", according to Saudi news agency.
In a statement, Egypt said that Qatar had taken an "anti-Egyptian course" and that Cairo had been unable to dissuade it from supporting terrorism
Global leaders have weighed in on the crisis; they urged the respective countries to sit down together and work out their differences. International price of crude oil jump up after the Gulf States announced decision to cut ties.
