QATAR CRISIS: DEADLINE TO MEET ARAB NEIGHBORS’ DEMANDS LOOMS

Qatar is a nation about the size of the U.S. state of Connecticut which juts out like a thumb on the Arabian Peninsula into the Persian Gulf. It has the highest per-capita income in the world due to its natural gas reserves, the 3rd largest on the planet after Russia and Iran. Just over 10 percent of its 2.2 million people are Qataris, with the rest foreign workers. Qatar will host the 2022 FIFA World Cup. Bahrain, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates cut ties to Qatar on June 5. They also stopped Qatar Airways flights from using their airspace, closed off the small country’s sole land border with Saudi Arabia and blocked its ships from using their ports. They say the crisis stems from Qatar’s support for extremist groups in the region, charges denied by Doha. The four nations have also pointed to Qatar’s close relationship with Iran, with which it shares a massive offshore gas field that provides the peninsular nation its wealth. The demands from Qatar include limiting diplomatic ties to Iran, shutting down the state-funded Al-Jazeera satellite news network and other media outlets, and severing ties to all “terrorist organizations,” including the Muslim Brotherhood and Lebanon’s Hezbollah. It also demanded Qatar expel the Turkish troops now stationed in the country, as well as pay reparations and submit to auditing. Qatar has rejected the demands as violations of its sovereignty.