UAE Foreign Minister Anwar al-Gargash - Reuters
CAIRO - 25 August 2017: UAE Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Anwar al-Gargash slammed on Friday Qatar’s decision to return its ambassador to Tehran and Doha’s “quibble” stance in its relations with Yemen and Iran.
Gargash tweeted saying “Qatar’s decision to return its ambassador to Tehran is accompanied by wide and confusing justification campaign. This is the quibbling that Doha practices in its stance with Iran and Yemen.”
He said that Qatar refers to UAE restoring trade with Iran to justify its decision, ignoring that Iran's main interests in the Gulf are in the gas fields of Qatar.
Qatar said on Wednesday its ambassador to Iran, who was withdrawn in January last year, would return to Iran.
"Qatar announced that its ambassador to Tehran will return to resume his diplomatic duties," the Qatari Foreign Ministry's information office said in a statement on its website, adding that Doha wanted to strengthen ties with the Islamic republic.
This decision came amid Iranian support to Qatar after Egypt, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, and Bahrain severed diplomatic ties with it over its support for terrorism. The Arab Quartet sent 13 demands to the tiny Gulf state to fulfill as a condition for the restoration of diplomatic ties.
What are the demands?
The list of demands included closing Al Jazeera television channel, reducing ties to their regional adversary Iran, and the closing of a Turkish military base in Qatar.
The demands, handed to Qatar by mediator Kuwait also required that Qatar refrain from interfering in the four countries' domestic and foreign affairs and halt the practice of giving the Qatari nationality to citizens of the four countries, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity. The countries gave Doha 10 days to comply with their demands.
How did Doha respond to the demands?
Doha not only stuck to its stubborn policy in ignoring the demands; but also went on to enhance its relations with Turkey and Iran, provoking the Quartet’s anger.
Ironically, Qatar responds to the Quartet’s demand to close a Turkish military base by increasing Turkish security checkpoints and barriers inside Qatar.
It goes on to defy the Quartet by agreeing to co-jointly hold naval and military maneuvers in the Arab Gulf waters with Turkey. Moreover, Turkey has sent about 5,000 soldiers to Doha upon the Emir of Qatar Tamim bin Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani’s request.
Doha also continued enhancing its relations with Iran in a clear challenge to the Quartet’s demands. Qatar’s Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani shows full support to the Shi’ite state through sending a delegation to the inauguration ceremony of Iran’s president, returning Qatar’s ambassador to Iran, and signing cooperation agreements with Iranian businessmen.
The Qatari-led Al Jazeera channel continued supporting the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood and portraying Arab countries negatively. Al Jazeera also used to particularize negative coverage in Egypt to incite violence.
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