Faithwire
  • Watch
  • Go!
  • Podcasts
  • Newsletter
  • Contact Us
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • Instagram
  • SCOTUS
  • Life
  • Religious Liberty
  • News
  • Politics
  • Faith
  • Opinion

Saudi Arabia, Egypt Among Arab States to Cut Ties With Qatar

"The preliminary result of the sword dance"
Share Tweet
By Faithwire Staff
Writer

June 6, 2017

Five Arab countries, including Saudi Arabia and Egypt, severed all ties with Qatar on Monday, accusing the Persian Gulf nation of supporting terrorism and destabilizing the region.

The five Arab states — Bahrain, Egypt Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Yemen — not only suspended diplomatic relations but cut off all travel to and from Qatar as well. All, except for Egypt, which has thousands of people employed in Qatar, ordered their citizens to depart the tiny nation.

Meanwhile, Qatari visitors and residents were given two weeks to leave Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. Qatari diplomats in Bahrain were given just 48 hours to leave their posts, according to The New York Times.

The severing of all connections by the five countries created an instant crisis for Qatar and has split open the worst rift in years among some of the most powerful nations in the Arab world.

Saudi Arabia led the alliance to cut off Qatar. It accused Doha of supporting militant groups in the region, some backed by its arch rival Iran, and spreading their ideology.

“(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,” Saudi state news agency SPA said in a statement Monday.

Like Faithwire on Facebook

Qatar denied the accusations, saying it was working to weaken the militant groups, not bolster them.

“The campaign of incitement is based on lies that had reached the level of complete fabrications,” the Qatari foreign ministry said in a statement obtained by Reuters on Monday.

Iran, which has long been at odds with Saudi Arabia over supremacy in the Middle East, quickly blamed U.S. President Donald Trump for setting the stage for the escalating discord during his recent visit to Saudi Arabia.

“What is happening is the preliminary result of the sword dance,” Hamid Aboutalebi, deputy chief of staff of Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani, tweeted Monday, referring to a traditional ceremonial dance that took place during Trump’s inaugural foreign trip to Riyadh.

While in Saudi Arabia’s capital, the U.S. president also singled out Iran as a key source of support and funding for militant groups.

U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said he doesn’t believe the diplomatic spat would effect the fight against Islamic militants and that the United States has urged its Gulf allies to resolve their differences. Qatar is home to the sprawling Al-Udeid Air Base that holds the forward headquarters of the U.S. Air Force Central Command, Combined Air and Space Operations Center and the 379th Air Expedition Wing, as well as some 10,000 American troops.

“I think what we’re witnessing is a growing list of disbelief in the countries for some time, and they’ve bubbled up to take action in order to have those differences addressed,” Tillerson told reporters on Monday while visiting Sydney, Australia, according to CBS News. “We certainly would encourage the parties to sit down together and address these differences.”

(h/t: The New York Times, Reuters, CBS News)

Latest

  • Faith

    CeCe Winans Reveals ‘The One Thing’ She’d Do Differently as a Parent: ‘If I Could Go Back’

  • News

    Hollywood Actor’s ‘Demonic Attack,’ ‘Insane’ God Encounter Shock Him Into Belief

  • News

    ‘God Still Heals’: Mike Signorelli on Fighting the Demonic, Seeing Miracles — and More

  • Faith

    Tim Tebow Foundation, Nonprofit Team Up to Rescue More Than 70 Missing Children

  • News

    School Reportedly Bans Student From Performing Christian Songs at Talent Show — Then Reverses Course


Sponsored
Sponsored

Newsletter
Signup

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Recent Posts

  • CeCe Winans Reveals ‘The One Thing’ She’d Do Differently as a Parent: ‘If I Could Go Back’
  • Hollywood Actor’s ‘Demonic Attack,’ ‘Insane’ God Encounter Shock Him Into Belief
  • ‘God Still Heals’: Mike Signorelli on Fighting the Demonic, Seeing Miracles — and More
  • Tim Tebow Foundation, Nonprofit Team Up to Rescue More Than 70 Missing Children
  • School Reportedly Bans Student From Performing Christian Songs at Talent Show — Then Reverses Course

Archives

  • May 2025
  • April 2025
  • March 2025
  • February 2025
  • January 2025
  • December 2024
  • November 2024
  • October 2024
  • September 2024
  • August 2024
  • July 2024
  • June 2024
  • May 2024
  • April 2024
  • March 2024
  • February 2024
  • January 2024
  • December 2023
  • November 2023
  • October 2023
  • September 2023
  • August 2023
  • July 2023
  • June 2023
  • May 2023
  • April 2023
  • March 2023
  • February 2023
  • January 2023
  • December 2022
  • November 2022
  • October 2022
  • September 2022
  • August 2022
  • July 2022
  • June 2022
  • May 2022
  • April 2022
  • March 2022
  • February 2022
  • January 2022
  • December 2021
  • November 2021
  • October 2021
  • September 2021
  • August 2021
  • July 2021
  • June 2021
  • May 2021
  • April 2021
  • March 2021
  • February 2021
  • January 2021
  • December 2020
  • November 2020
  • October 2020
  • September 2020
  • August 2020
  • July 2020
  • June 2020
  • May 2020
  • April 2020
  • March 2020
  • February 2020
  • January 2020
  • December 2019
  • November 2019
  • October 2019
  • September 2019
  • August 2019
  • July 2019
  • June 2019
  • May 2019
  • April 2019
  • March 2019
  • February 2019
  • January 2019
  • December 2018
  • November 2018
  • October 2018
  • September 2018
  • August 2018
  • July 2018
  • June 2018
  • May 2018
  • April 2018
  • March 2018
  • February 2018
  • January 2018
  • December 2017
  • November 2017
  • October 2017
  • September 2017
  • August 2017
  • July 2017
  • June 2017
  • May 2017
  • April 2017
  • March 2017
  • February 2017
  • January 2017
  • December 2016
  • November 2016
  • October 2016
  • September 2016
  • July 2016
  • June 2016

Categories

  • Christian Persecution
  • Coronavirus
  • culture
  • Culture
  • Entertainment
  • Faith
  • Faith
  • Family
  • George Floyd
  • Go!
  • Israel
  • Life
  • Life
  • Lifestyle
  • Media
  • Men
  • Mission Haiti
  • News
  • News
  • Opinion
  • P.O.V
  • Politics
  • Politics
  • Roe
  • Sponsored
  • Sports
  • Virtue
  • Women

Meta

  • Log in
  • Entries feed
  • Comments feed
  • WordPress.org

Navigation

  • Watch
  • Go!
  • Podcasts
  • Newsletter
  • Contact Us
  • Staff
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Service

Follow Us

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • Instagram

Subscribe to the Newsletter

Sign up to get our newsletter your inbox every day.

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Newsletter Signup

Do you want to read
more articles like this?

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.