Planned Saudi canal could cut off Qatar from mainland: reports

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In a sign of an escalation of the Gulf crisis, Saudi Arabia has reportedly planned to dig a canal through the length of its border with Qatar, in a bid to turn the peninsula into an island and further isolate the smaller country.

The Saudi plan comes amid reports on Thursday that US President Donald Trump spoke with the Saudi monarch earlier this month and demanded that the kingdom and its partners end their 10-month old dispute with Qatar, which has seen Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Egypt and Bahrain blockading Qatar.

Earlier on Tuesday, Trump also welcomed the Emir of Qatar, whom he described as a “friend” and a "great gentleman," just days after the Saudi Crown Prince's much-publicized visit.

Qatar's Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani (left) meets with US President Donald Trump in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, US, April 10, 2018. /VCG Photo

The Saudi-based Sabq online newspaper reported that the canal project will be funded entirely by private investors from both Saudi Arabia and UAE – under full Saudi authority. The planned "Salwa Canal" will be dug by Egyptian companies, benefiting from Egypt's experience in widening the Suez Canal, it said.

The blueprint of the canal was leaked to Saudi press, along with sources saying it was waiting for the "green light" from authorities. The news has neither elicited a confirmation nor a denial from Riyadh.

The canal would measure 15-20 meters deep and 200 meters wide, allowing for the passage of merchant ships, according to Sabq.

The online newspaper noted that once built, the canal would add 60 kilometers to the Saudi coastline and would be a boom to the tourism sector in the kingdom.

Saudi Al-Riyadh newspaper went further, claiming the project includes plans for a dump which would be filled with waste from nuclear reactors which the kingdom and the UAE plan on building.

Last June, Riyadh and its allies broke off relations with Doha, accusing it of fostering close links with Tehran and supporting Islamist extremists – a charge Qatar denies. The boycott includes the closure of the small Gulf state's only land border with Saudi Arabia.

"The canal project would appear to be an attempt to further tighten the blockade on Qatar and attempt to take trade away from the emirate," The New Arab, a Qatari-owned publication, said on Sunday.

Trump calls Saudi King, hosts Qatari Emir

Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud gestures as he attends Janadriyah Festival on the northern outskirts of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, February 7, 2018. /VCG Photo

Meanwhile, Trump, in his telephone call with Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz on April 2, demanded an end to the crisis that has left US allies in the region fractured, Reuters reported citing two US officials briefed on the conversation.

Trump wants the rift healed to restore unity among Arab Gulf states and present a united front against Iran, according to the officials, who requested anonymity to discuss high-level diplomatic communications.

Trump’s tone in the call with Salman was described by one official as “forceful.” It was not clear what the King’s response was.

“The president’s focus has always been on Iran, and its nuclear and missile programs that threaten all the Gulf states, as well as Israel, and he stressed that the feud the Saudis and Emirates are having with Qatar makes no sense,” the official said.

On Tuesday, Trump hosted Qatari Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani in the Oval office, barely one year after accusing his government of funding terrorism at a “high level.”

"He's a friend of mine," Trump said effusively. "He's a great gentleman."

A readout of the meeting issued later by the White House said "the leaders discussed joint efforts to finalize new commercial deals that would create more than 50,000 American jobs" in addition to discussing Syria and "Iranian and Russian malign influence" there.

Trump also faces a potential confrontation with Tehran in Syria, where he has accused President Bashar al Assad’s Iranian-backed government of using poison gas on his own people in an assault on Saturday. Trump appeared on Wednesday to threaten an imminent retaliatory missile strike in Syria.

(With input from agencies)

[Cover Photo: A map showing the Persian Gulf region /VCG Photo]

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