Saudi Arabia, UAE, Bahrain demand Qatar to cut ties with Iran

RIYADH – Qatar has to curb its diplomatic relations with Iran and cut off all ties with terrorist organizations, four Arab countries led by Saudi Arabia demanded yesterday as a condition to resume ties with the emirate.

In a list of ‘demands’ presented by Kuwait, which mediates in the crisis unleashed on June 5, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates (UAE), Bahrain and Egypt also demand that Qatari authorities end the Turkish military presence in their territory.

The Governments of Riyadh, Abu Dhabi and Manama, all members of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), announced on that date that the end of diplomatic ties with Doha imposed a border blockade and cut off any air and trade links by accusing it of financing and support terrorism.

The boycott of Qatar also involved Egypt and other Arab and Islamic countries that cut or reduced the level of their ties.

The long-awaited complaints that the four states announced they would hand over to Doha to resolve them and re-establish links, requires Emir Sheikh bin Hamad al-Thani to transfer sovereignty over sensitive issues such as security, defense, and diplomacy.

Among the requests related to Tehran, it was stressed the expulsion from Qatari soil of members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, an Iranian elite military body fighting in Syria, and the end of any joint military cooperation with the Persian nation.