Seven countries cut ties with Qatar over terrorism. Flights suspended – UPDATE

Saudi Arabia, Egypt, United Arab Emirates and Bahrain cut relations with Qatar in a coordinated move, accusing it of supporting terrorism, opening up the worst rift in years among some of the most powerful states in the Arab world. Yemen, Libya’s eastern-based government and the Maldives joined in later.

The coordinated move dramatically escalates a dispute over Qatar‘s support of the Muslim Brotherhood, the world’s oldest Islamist movement, and adds accusations that Doha even backs the agenda of regional arch-rival Iran.

UPDATE: The United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia have stopped exports of white sugar to Qatar after the two states broke off relations with Doha, in the first sign that the diplomatic crisis is hitting food trade, trade sources said on Monday.

Qatar is dependent on the UAE and Saudi Arabia for its white sugar imports, which are estimated at less than 100,000 tonnes annually. Consumption is higher during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which is currently being observed.

UPDATE: Egypt will begin its ban on flights to and from Qatar on Tuesday at 6 am local time (0400 GMT), the Civil Aviation Ministry said on Monday following a severing of diplomatic ties announced earlier.

Egyptian airspace will also be closed off to all flights originating from Qatar, the ministry said in a statement

“The ministry has issued a decision to halt all flights between Egypt and Qatar and to close off Egyptian airspace to Qatari aircrafts that seek to land or pass through,” the ministry said.

UPDATE: Libya’s eastern-based government has followed regional allies in cutting diplomatic ties with Qatar, its foreign minister, Mohamed Dayri, said on Monday.

It blamed Qatar for funding groups that have contributed to Libya’s current divisions. Qatar denounces accusations that it supports militants as lies.

The Libyan move is largely symbolic because the government, which sits in the eastern city of Bayda, has little authority within Libya and is not recognised internationally. Qatar has not had a presence in eastern Libya for several years.

UPDATE: Some Egyptian banks halted dealings with Qatari banks on Monday after Cairo’s announcement that it had cut diplomatic relations with Qatar for supporting terrorism, though Egypt’s central bank urged banks to continue dealing in Qatari riyals.

UPDATE: Turkey’s Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Monday he was saddened by a rift between Qatar and other Arab states, and called for dialogue to resolve the dispute.

“We see the stability in the Gulf region as our own unity and solidarity,” Cavusoglu told a news conference.

“Countries may of course have some issues, but dialogue must continue under every circumstance for problems to be resolved peacefully. We are saddened by the current picture and will give any support for its normalisation,” Cavusoglu said.

UPDATE: Egypt has given the Qatari ambassador in Cairo 48 hours to leave the country and has recalled its senior representative in Doha, the foreign ministry said on Monday.

“The Qatari ambassador was summoned today and given formal notification of the expiry of his accreditation as an ambassador to Egypt, and was given 48 hours to leave the country,” a statement from the foreign ministry said.

UPDATE: The Maldives said on Monday it was severing diplomatic ties with Qatar.

“The Maldives took the decision because of its firm opposition to activities that encourage terrorism and extremism,” the government of the tiny Indian Ocean archipelago nation said in a statement.

UPDATE: Iran called on Qatar, Saudi Arabia and other Gulf Arab states to resolve disputes through diplomacy and said any heightened tension would not help to resolve the crisis in the Middle East, state TV said on Monday.

“To resolve regional disputes and the current dispute, they should adopt peaceful methods, transparent dialogue and diplomacy,” foreign ministry spokesman Bahram Qasemi said.

“No country in the region will benefit from the heightened tension.”

UPDATE: Qatar on Monday asked citizens to leave the United Arab Emirates within 14 days to comply with a decision by Abu Dhabi to sever ties with Doha, the Qatari embassy in Abu Dhabi said on social media.

“Qatari citizens must leave the UAE within 14 days, in accordance with the statement issued by the concerned Emirati parties,” the embassy tweeted.

Those who cannot travel directly to Doha should go through Kuwait or Oman, it said.

UPDATE: Egyptian billionaire Naguib Sawiris has called on Egyptian businessmen to withdraw their investments from Qatar and halt business dealings with the Gulf state.

Announcing the closure of transport ties with Qatar, the three Gulf states gave Qatari visitors and residents two weeks to leave their countries. Qatar was also expelled from a Saudi-led coalition fighting in Yemen.

Economic disturbances loomed immediately, as Abu Dhabi’s state-owned Etihad Airways said it would suspend all flights to and from Doha from Tuesday morning until further notice.

Oil giant Saudi Arabia accused Qatar of backing militant groups and broadcasting their ideology, in an apparent reference to Qatar‘s influential state-owned satellite channel al Jazeera.

“(Qatar) embraces multiple terrorist and sectarian groups aimed at disturbing stability in the region, including the Muslim Brotherhood, ISIS (Islamic State) and al-Qaeda, and promotes the message and schemes of these groups through their media constantly,” the Saudi state news agency SPA said.

The statement accused Qatar of supporting what it described as Iranian-backed militants in its restive and largely Shi’ite Muslim-populated Eastern region of Qatif and in Bahrain.

Qatar had no immediate reaction to the announcements, and Qatari officials could not be reached for comment, but it has denied supporting terrorism or Iran in the past.

World cup, US base

The measures are more severe than during a previous eight-month rift in 2014, when Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and the UAE withdrew their ambassadors from Doha, again alleging Qatari support for militant groups. At that time, travel links were maintained and Qataris were not expelled.

A split between Doha and its closest allies can have repercussions around the Middle East, where Gulf states have used their financial and political power to influence events in Libya, Egypt, Syria, Iraq and Yemen.

The diplomatic broadside threatens the international prestige of Qatar, which hosts a large U.S. military base and is set to host the 2022 World Cup. It has for years presented itself as a mediator and power broker for the region’s many disputes.

Kristian Ulrichsen, a Gulf expert at the U.S-based Baker Institute, said if Qatar‘s land borders and air space were closed for any length of time “it would wreak havoc on the timeline and delivery” of the World Cup.

U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson told reporters in Sydney on Monday that the spat would not effect the fight against Islamist militants and that Washington has encouraged its Gulf allies to resolve their differences.

The announcements come 10 days after President Donald Trump visited Riyadh to call on Muslim countries to stand united against Islamists extremists, and singling out Iran as a key source of funding and support for militant groups.

“It seems that the Saudis and Emiratis feel emboldened by the alignment of their regional interests – toward Iran and Islamism – with the Trump administration,” said Kristian Ulrichsen, a Gulf expert at the U.S-based Baker Institute.

“(They) have decided to deal with Qatar‘s alternative approach on the assumption that they will have the (Trump) administration’s backing.”

“Arab spring”

Qatar has used its media and political clout to support long-repressed Islamists during the 2011 pro-democracy “Arab Spring” uprisings in several Arab countries.

Muslim Brotherhood parties allied to Doha are now mostly on the backfoot in the region, especially after a 2013 military takeover in Egypt ousted the elected Islamist president.

The former army chief and now president, Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, along with the new government’s allies in Saudi Arabia and the UAE, blacklist the Brotherhood as a terrorist organisation.

Egypt, the Arab world’s most populous nation, said on its state news agency that Qatar‘s policy “threatens Arab national security and sows the seeds of strife and division within Arab societies according to a deliberate plan aimed at the unity and interests of the Arab nation.”

Oil prices rose after the moves against Qatar, which is the biggest supplier of liquefied natural gas (LNG) and a major seller of condensate – a low-density liquid fuel and refining product derived from natural gas.

Flights suspended

Dubai-based budget carrier Flydubai said on Monday it would suspend flights to and from Doha from Tuesday after the United Arab Emirates severed ties with Qatar.

“From Tuesday 06 June 2017 all flydubai flights between Dubai and Doha will be suspended,” the statement on Monday said.

Also Qatar Airways said on its official website on Monday that it had suspended all flights to Saudi Arabia.

“A campaign of lies”

Qatar said on Monday it was facing a campaign of lies and fabrications aimed at putting the Gulf Arab state under guardianship, after Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt cut ties with it.

“The campaign of incitement is based on lies that had reached the level of complete fabrications,” the Qatari foreign ministry said.

It added that, as a member of the Gulf Cooperation Council, it was committed to its charter, respected the sovereignty of other states and did not interfere in their affairs.

“It’s not a solution for regional crisis”

A senior Iranian official said on Monday the decision by some Gulf Arab states and Egypt to sever diplomatic ties with Qatar would not help end the crisis in the Middle East.

“The era of cutting diplomatic ties and closing borders is over… it is not a way to resolve crisis. These countries have no other option but to start regional dialogue,” Hamid Aboutalebi, deputy chief of staff of Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani, tweeted on Monday.

“What is happening is the preliminary result of the sword dance,” he said in an apparent reference to U.S. President Donald Trump’s recent visit to Saudi Arabia.

Trump and other U.S. officials participated in a ceremonial sword dance in a trip to Saudi Arabia last month. During the trip Trump singled out Iran as a key source of funding and support for militant groups.

Iranian authorities have criticised a rising alliance between Washington and Riyadh against Tehran, saying it would further heighten crisis in the Middle East.

Sunni Kingdom Saudi Arabia and Shi’ite-led Iran are at odds over what Riyadh sees as Tehran’s efforts to tighten its grip on Arab states, from Iraq to Lebanon, and Syria to Yemen.