Qatar challenge and Riyadh ill dream of satellite states

The confrontation between the Saudi axis and the Qatari leaders reached its climax after other Arab states follow suit under the pressure from Riyadh to sever ties with Doha.

This apparently happened after the release of some remarks attributed to Emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani against Riyadh and its regional policies. Although the remarks were denied by the Qatari officials shortly after their release, the Saudis and the mainstream media in the kingdom declared that approaches adopted by Doha tend to be the real manifestation of the statements by the Qatari Emir, so they started to put the peninsular country in the Persian Gulf under unprecedented attacks.

In recent days, the magnitude and degree of differences between the two sides have started showing up. The publication of voice files attributed to the former Qatari Emir and his alleged support for the groups the Saudis regard as enemies and rebels just added fuel to the fire.

Saudi Arabia, along with Egypt, United Arab Emirates and Bahrain officially announced on June 5, that they have cut their ties with Qatar and closed their air, ground and sea borders with the gas-rich country.

The Saudi move, supported by some states such as Libya and Maldives, was aimed at putting pressure on Doha leaders to make them succumb to Riyadh’s demands; a decision which is a new manifestation of the inflexible and rigid approaches of the new Saudi generation of leaders, showing that logical, calculated or prudent moves should not be expected from the new Saudi rulers.

Qatar, as a tiny country, lacking natural power elements such as vast land and high population and relying solely on huge oil and gas revenues has been in the previous decades in pursuit of acquiring other power elements. To do so, Doha has avoided no overt or covert competitions to challenge the Saudi Arabia’s status as the self-declared leader of the Arab and Muslim world, triggering the Riyadh rulers’ anger.

The recent conference in Riyadh attended by the US President Donald Trump and representatives of nearly 50 Arab Muslim states imposed high costs on Saudi Arabia. During Trump’s visit to Riyadh, multi billion dollar contracts were signed and the Saudi leaders’ muscle-flexing efforts versus regional rivals, such as Iran, reached new heights.

In the Saudis’ view, Qatar by supporting groups like the Muslim Brotherhood, opposing naming Lebanon’s Hezbollah as a terrorist organization, and establishing good relations with Iran, is practically neutralizing their efforts to change the balance equity to the detriment of Tehran and in favor of Riyadh; an approach which is considered a cardinal sin by the Saudis and deserves a tough reaction.

In the face of Saudi hostilities, some countries such as Kuwait and Oman, as members of the Persian Gulf Cooperation Council have avoided accompanying Riyadh in confronting Qatar, and some friendly states, such as Pakistan, have not cut ties with Doha.

A glance at reactions of the citizens of the Arab world in social media and campaigns launched in support of Qatar against the Saudis’ decision to boycott Doha in cyberspace, as well as the position assumed by some countries trying to stay clear of the issue, show that cutting ties with the Persian Gulf Arab state was an immature, futile decision, as it was seen in Saudi Arabia’s severing ties with Tehran, an action not so welcomed by the Muslim countries.

In the current situation, what is important is the failure of the Saudi strategy to turn the Arab and Muslim countries into Riyadh’s satellites. Therefore, the dream of a self-declared leadership in the region and the Muslim world these days more than ever seems to be an ill one.

By: Mohammad Mussa Kazemi
Translated by: Mahdokht Pazoki
Edited by: Reza Bahar

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