The US is telling some of its closest Arab allies — Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain — to stop ganging up on another American ally in the Gulf: Qatar. The Saudi-led group has subjected the tiny gas-rich emirate to a blockade by land, air and sea for more than three years.
The Saudi animus behind this embargo is fired mainly by Qatar’s open lines to Iran, whereas the chief motive for Egypt and the UAE is Doha’s support for the Muslim Brotherhood and alliance with Turkey. They have all been incensed by the Qatari ruling family’s sponsorship of Al Jazeera, the pan-Arab broadcaster they believe subverts their rule with its criticism.
US president Donald Trump initially tweeted enthusiastic support for the blockade, persuaded it was a ringing blow against jihadism. Now his state department’s special representative for Iran, Brian Hook, is telling them to get over it. “The dispute has continued for too long and it ultimately harms our shared regional interests in stability, prosperity and security”, he said in Doha on Sunday. What has changed?