Gulf States Reconsider Feud With Qatar: The Economist

Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates’ recent decision to take part in the Gulf Cup in Doha has signaled a cooling of tensions since the 2017 rift over an embargo of Qatar by the majority of members in the Gulf Co-operation Council, or GCC. The embargo stemmed from Qatar’s refusal to “comply with a list of demands from the Saudi-led camp, such as cutting ties with Islamist groups and closing Al Jazeera, a satellite news channel,” reports the Economist. Saudi Arabia and Qatar have been negotiating a possible resolution behind the scenes to end the feud, and in early December, Qatar’s prime minister attended a GCC summit in Saudi Arabia. Moreover, Qatar’s ties to Iran, which deepened against the backdrop of the embargo, are no longer a sticking point. With Saudi Arabia and Iran facing internal and external security threats, the two sides are trying to “wind down a war in Yemen against Iranian-backed Houthi rebels that has cost the [Saudi] kingdom dearly and left Yemen even less stable than before,” the article notes. Despite signs of rapprochement, it is still too early to tell whether all sides can ultimately bring about a shift in regional politics. – YaleGlobal