The demands made of Qatar by the four Arab states that are seeking to isolate it amounted to a deal made to be rejected according to Qatari Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammad al-Abdulrahman al-Thani. Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt had demanded that 13 points be accepted by a set deadline, but hardly “bargaining” points. The nations have accused Qatar of supporting terrorism, an allegation Qatar denies. Nevertheless, the Qatari foreign minister dismissed demands such as severing ties from terrorist organizations, closing down the Al-Jazeera network, downgrading ties with Turkey and closing a Turkish air base located on its property. The FM said the demands were “meant to be rejected” and are not even worthy of being negotiated. But for the four nations, there is no room for negotiation anyway. They have warned that additional actions will be initiated against Qatar if it does not meet the demands. The United States is involved in seeking a resolution to the crisis as a patron of Kuwait which has close ties with Qatar and doesn’t want to be caught in the middle of the affair. The list of demands includes turning over individuals wanted for involvement in terrorism along with no longer funding terrorist groups – defined as those on the United States State Department’s list of terrorist nations. Qatar is being told by the Sunni nations to fall in line with the Gulf Cooperation Council, a group that stands in opposition to Shiite Iran.
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