Gulf states, Egypt cut diplomatic ties with Qatar

PanARMENIAN.Net - Gulf states on Monday, June 5 cut diplomatic ties with neighbouring Qatar and kicked it out of a military coalition, less than a month after US President Donald Trump visited the region to cement ties with powerhouse Saudi Arabia, AFP reports.

In the region's most serious diplomatic crisis in years, Qatar's Gulf neighbours Riyadh, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates as well as Egypt all announced they were severing ties with gas-rich Qatar.

Riyadh cut diplomatic relations and closed borders with its neighbour to "protect its national security from the dangers of terrorism and extremism," the official Saudi Press Agency said.

A Saudi official cited by SPA said Riyadh decided to "sever diplomatic and consular ties with Qatar, and to close all land, sea and aviation ports."

The "decisive" measure was due to the "gross violations committed by authorities in Qatar over the past years," the Saudi statement said.

Many expatriate and Saudi travellers use Qatar as their gateway into the kingdom.

A Saudi-led coalition which for more than two years has been fighting Iran-backed rebels in Yemen separately announced Qatar was no longer welcome in the alliance.

In a statement, the coalition accused Qatar of "support to (terrorist) organisations in Yemen".

Qatar had assigned warplanes to the coalition conducting air strikes against Yemen's Huthi rebels.

Egypt's foreign ministry also accused Doha of supporting "terrorism" and announced the closure of its ports and airports to Qatari carriers.

Doha launched a probe into an alleged "hack" of state media after it said false and explosive remarks attributed to Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani were published on the Qatar News Agency website last month.

The stories quoted him questioning US hostility towards Iran, speaking of "tensions" between Doha and Washington, commenting on Hamas and speculating that Trump might not remain in power for long.

The alleged comments were made after Trump's visit to the region.

However, Doha has denied all the comments and said it had been the victim of a "shameful cybercrime".