By CGTN’s Zhou Yu
Seven countries on Monday announced the termination of diplomatic relations with Qatar, on the grounds that the country is promoting terrorism and division. Caught by this surprise move, Qatar has retaliated by saying that these accusations are simply dirty tricks to harm its global reputation.
One of the driving forces behind this spat is Qatar’s relations with Iran and the subsequent power struggle in the Middle East, especially concerning the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), a union known for competitive nuances in its relations with Iran.
According to Hua Liming, the former Chinese ambassador to Iran, since 1995 “Qatar has become quite an ambitious member of the GCC. Qatar has successfully kept its friendly relations with Iran, which Saudi Arabia has not been happy with.”
Yet despite the fact that Qatar and Iran share one of the biggest oil and gas field in the Gulf, Hua points out that “they are not from the same Islamic sect. One is Sunni and the other is Shi’ite. So I do not believe relations between Qatar and Iran would be very close or very sincere. I am sure these are relations of convenience.”
In response, current affairs commentator Einar Tangen noted that Qatar is utterly unprepared for its diplomatic isolation. “40 percent of Qatar’s daily food comes from Saudi Arabia. They are not prepared for this. Quite frankly, no one was prepared for this.”
To take a step further, Tangen claimed that this “strange” political scenario – in which seven countries sever diplomatic ties – could lead to the next proxy war. “If Saudi Arabia masses there, the only thing that the Iranians can do is to start massing and preparing troops because they cannot lose that oil and gas field. That’s too much of their disposable hard currency.”
On the possible repercussions for the Muslim brotherhood, Tangen noted the many complex movements concerning a Shi’ite state aligning with a Sunni state, adding that the Muslim brotherhood is a pan-Sunni movement that commands much more intense control in the Middle East. "The Muslim brotherhood is not as outgoing as [ISIL] in spreading terror to other places, which does not mean they are a benign entity, especially as they share similar ideological goals”.
