PGCC on the verge of disintegration: Political analyst

In the past 36 years, Saudi Arabia, the biggest member of the council has tried to line up PGCC members against Iran, but Qatar has close relations with Iran and has separated its path from that of Saudi Arabia so as to safeguard the relations with Iran and also to persuade the Arab states of the Persian Gulf to have a balanced manner toward Iran.

In his recent trip to the region, US President Donald Trump focused on encouraging Arab states of the Persian Gulf to restart their relations with the Zionist regime. Saudi Arabia pressed the member countries of the PGCC to do so, but Qatar answered negatively and now Saudi Arabia is furious.

Qatar is under a lot of pressure from Bahrain, the UAE, Libya, Yemen and Egypt which receive financial help from Saudi Arabia.

The tensions are so severe that can lead gradually to disintegration of the PGCC, in the meantime, Oman and Qatar may found a parallel council.

The noteworthy point here is that Qatar is in a tough situation now, and even some foreign media have speculated a possible new adventure on the part of Saudi Arabia. By lobbying countries such as Sudan, Algeria, Somalia, and other Arab states and by separating Qatar from Iran, Riyadh is going to try to isolate Doha more in order to open a new front.

*Hassan Hanizadeh is an expert on Middle East political affairs.

Source: Iran (Tehran-based Persian language newspaper)

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