Senior Analyst:

Saudi Arabia, Allies May Take Military Action Against Qatar as Next Move

Rasa - 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 launching military strikes against the Qatari government.

News ID: 430138

Date: 05 June 2017 - 19:45

RNA - Atwan's remarks came after Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the UAE and Egypt closed their borders with Qatar to put a halt to all diplomatic ties with the Persian Gulf state.

"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.

He reiterated that cutting diplomatic ties and closing the borders precedes efforts to isolate Doha.

Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt have cut diplomatic ties and all land sea and air contacts with Qatar on Monday, accusing the Persian Gulf country of supporting terrorism and interfering in their internal affairs.

Qatar also in a statement expressed regret over the attempt by four Arab countries to cut relations with Doha, and said, "Their measure is unjustifiable and based on groundless allegations."

In a relevant development on Tuesday, Secretary of Iran's Expediency Council (EC) Mohsen Rezayee called on Saudi Arabia to avoid meddling in Qatar's internal affairs, warning Riyadh that the regional nations' tolerance has a limit and they might burst with anger.

"The Al-Saud's interference in the internal affairs of Qatar as an independent country on the pretext of (the latter's) friendship with Iran is the height of aggression and intervention," Rezayee wrote on his Instagram page.

Noting that Saudi Arabia has military intervened in Yemen and Bahrain on the pretext of their relations with Iran and interferes in Qatar's internal affairs due to its independent policies, he expressed surprise that Riyadh persuades other countries to establish friendly ties with Israel.

Rezayee warned that al-Saud's illegal measures will put the region on the brink of insecurity, and said that the Saudi rulers are digging their graves and will soon witness an uprising by their own people and the regional nations.

Last Thursday, an article appeared on Qatar’s state-run news agency, quoting the emir as criticizing the United States, Saudi Arabia, and its client states for their attempt to stir up tensions with “Islamic power” Iran.

A post also appeared on the agency’s Twitter page, quoting the Qatari foreign minister as saying that his country was withdrawing its ambassadors from Kuwait, Bahrain, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE amid tensions.

The Qatari government soon said that the state agency had been hacked and that the remarks attributed to the emir and the foreign minister had never been made.

The official denial, which was offered several more times, too, nevertheless failed to stop a widening rift from emerging between the Arab countries of the Persian Gulf. Saudi media viciously attacked Qatar, accusing it of having “betrayed” the other Arab countries particularly at a time when they had attempted to stage a show of “unity” against Iran in a much-publicized and extravagant series of events in Riyadh.

Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates also blocked Qatari websites and broadcasters.

Qatari Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani later said the country was being targeted in a “hostile media campaign, which we will confront.” He was referring to the media blackout.

Kuwait, however, did not joined the blackout. Kuwaiti Deputy Foreign Minister Khaled Jarallah called the ban “regrettable” and expressed Kuwait’s readiness to converge its views with those of Qatar.

Some analysts say Riyadh fears that the Arab Persian Gulf countries it has long sought to coopt may be gravitating toward Iran, which Saudi Arabia perceives as a regional adversary.

Tehran has said time and again that it does not seek tensions with any of its neighbors, including Saudi Arabia.

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