UAE ambassador threatens Qatar with further sanctions

CAIRO - 1 July 2017: In an attempt to continue to put pressures on Qatar, the UAE ambassador in Russia, Omar Ghobash, threatens further sanctions against the tiny country.

Ghobash stated that the list of demands, which consists of 13 points, conveyed by KSA, UAE, Bahrain and Egypt to Qatar could follow other threats such as economic pressures if Doha does not follow and comply accordingly, reported The Guardian website on June 28.

During The Guardian’s interview with UAE ambassador, he clarified that the Gulf states are considering “further economic pressure on the tiny country, such as reducing commercial links with states that continue to trade with Doha.”

The coalition parties, KSA, UAE, Bahrain and Egypt cut off diplomatic ties with Qatar earlier this month accusing Qatar of supporting terrorist groups.

Accordingly they have urged Qatar to comply with their demands, otherwise the state will face further consequences.

The list of demands includes, but is not limited to, “ shutting down Al Jazeera, cutting diplomatic ties with Iran, immediately halting the establishing of a Turkish military base in Qatar and ending any military cooperation with the NATO member,” stated the Al Arabia website.

“If Qatar is not willing to accept the demands, it is a case of ‘Goodbye Qatar’. We do not need you in our tent anymore,” Ghobash said.

As mentioned on the BBC website in early June 2017, the oil- and gas-rich state of Qatar has long practiced an ambitious foreign policy, among which there were two key issues that angered its neighbors the most. First is the Qatari support for Islamic groups such as the Muslim Brotherhood, while the other reason lies in Qatari relations with Shia Iran .

The crisis started when a Qatar news agency website published a story that expressed criticism for the US “hostility” towards Iran, while calling the Islamic republic a "big power in the stabilization of the region." The incident provided a spark for regional retaliation against Qatar, which said that Qatar was a victim of hackers who provoked a "campaign of lies".