On Monday, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Bahrain and the UAE cut off diplomatic ties with Qatar alleging that it supports extremism. Subsequently, Mauritius, Maldives and Yemen joined Saudi Arabia in the decision while Jordan downgraded its diplomatic ties without fully severing the relationship.
Once one of the poorest Gulf countries in the world, Qatar’s rise to an influence has been fuelled largely by its copious gas reserves. It is currently one of the richest Gulf countries and uses the oil money to fund its welfare-state economy. The country is scheduled to host the FIFA World Cup in 2022 - the first Arab state to host the prestigious tournament.
The reasons for the conflict between Qatar and Saudi Arabia are complicated. Also, this is not the first time that Qatar and Saudi Arabia have had a diplomatic spat. In 2014, Saudi Arabia and its allies had withdrawn their diplomats from Doha over similar concerns - however, the issue was resolved within nine months.
The immediate trigger for the current crisis occurred when, days after Donald Trump’s visit to Riyadh in May, the Qatar News Agency carried comments by Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani questioning the mounting anti-Iran sentiment. According to the report, the Emir called Hezbollah “a legitimate resistance movement” and Iran “a big power” in the region. However, officials quickly deleted those comments and said the news agency was hacked. But by then, the damage was done.
The situation worsened when Sheikh Tamim held a telephone conversation with the re-elected Iranian leader, Hassan Rouhani, a few days after the news agency controversy. The Saudis saw this as an act of defiance, prompting them to sever diplomatic ties with Qatar.
A bird's eye view of Qatar. With a per capita income of $145,894, Qatar is the richest country in the world. In comparison, India has a per capita income of $7,153.
A Qatari woman walks in front of the city skyline in Doha, Qatar. Qatar shares it's southern border with Saudi Arabia and is surrounded by Persian Gulf.
The current Qatar crisis began when the Qatar News Agency said that the Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani (pictured here) called Hezbollah “a legitimate resistance movement” and Iran “a big power” in the region. Even though the officials deleted the comments and said that the news agency was hacked, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Bahrain and Egypt declared that it is cutting ties with Qatar and accused it of supporting extremism.
As per the current crisis, Qatar Airlines is no longer allowed to use the airspace above Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Bahrain and the UAE. Which, in turn, means that the flight routes will be longer, resulting in higher fuel costs, flight times and ticket prices.
A view of the famous Souq Waqif market in Doha. Qatar has a population of over 2.6 million of which over 2.3 million are expatriates.
Foreign Muslim workers break their fast during the holy month of Ramadan in the Qatari capital Doha.
An employee prepares traditional sweets at a pastry shop in the Qatari capital Doha. Even though Qatar is a rich country, it doesn't produce its own food - almost all of it comes from Saudi Arabia. The current border shutdown could result in an increase in food supplies.
Qatar won the bid to host FIFA World Cup in 2022 - it is the first Arab nation to win this bid. If the diplomatic crisis continues, it could affect the transportation of supplies and workers and eventually affect the World Cup turnout. (In the photograph is the Khalifa International Stadium in Doha, Qatar, one of the venues for WC 2022)
A bird’s-eye view of the newsroom at the headquarters of the Qatar-based Al Jazeera, an English-language channel, in Doha. The government-owned channel is known for commenting on sensitive issues even though it usually steers clear of criticism of its allies including Saudi Arabia.
Considering that Qatar is the world’s largest LNG exporter, any instability in the region tends to send up oil prices. So far, oil and gas markets have been taking the crisis in their stride. Qatar also has pipelines in the Gulf and could retaliate by cutting off supplies to its neighbours. (This file photo shows the Ras Laffan Industrial City, Qatar's principal site for production of liquefied natural gas and gas-to-liquid, about 80 km north of the capital Doha.)