On Tuesday, Qatar and Saudi Arabia agreed to end their long-simmering dispute, which came to a head when Riyadh imposed a blockade on the peninsular emirate in 2017. The conflict pitted the Saudis—along with the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, and Egypt—against Qatar, and has had major consequences for the region. Benny Avni comments:
The Saudis and their partners accused Doha of cooperating with Iran. Egypt was concerned about Qatar’s support of its top enemy at home, the Muslim Brotherhood. Every [government] in the Arab world was angry at Qatar’s [anti-Semitic and anti-American news outlet] Al Jazeera. That most influential Arabic-language medium stirred up anti-authoritarian feelings across the region, where public unrest threatens regimes and heightens instability.
[T]the Gulf states are American allies. The Saudis and Emiratis, which recently acquired major American arms systems, battle Iran and their own extreme Islamist political forces. Qatar hosts the largest American military base in the region. The Gulf dispute, [therefore], was a major headache for America. Banned from Saudi air space, the Qataris flew over Iran, allowing Tehran to collect a fee and harming President Trump’s drive to isolate the Islamic Republic economically. Doha, meanwhile, allied with Turkey in backing the Muslim Brotherhood.
For Qatar, winding down its Muslim Brotherhood ties is unlikely. That could remain a source of . . . discord. The Qataris, adept at playing all sides against the middle, will try to leverage these ties to offer diplomatic mediation between Washington and anti-American Islamists.
Why are the two sides ending their dispute now?
The answer is Iran. The Sunni Gulf Cooperation Council members fear the renewal of President Obama’s call on them to learn how to “share” the region with Shiite (and, more importantly, meddlesome, belligerent, dangerous, and anti-American) Iran. When Tehran was in America’s crosshairs, they could afford indulging in petty disputes. No longer.
Read more on New York Sun: https://www.nysun.com/foreign/fearing-iran-qatar-agrees-to-come-in-from-the-cold/91382/