The four countries have issued 13 demands, including the closing of Al Jazeera, Qatar’s influential television channel, and, more broadly, the abandonment of Qatar’s foreign policy, which includes support for a wide variety of Islamist factions. He singled out Saudi Arabia and the Emirates as the main foes of Qatar, accusing them of seeking to make it surrender its sovereignty. Newsletter Sign Up Continue reading the main story Please verify you're not a robot by clicking the box. American officials say that Mr. Trump sees the crisis as an opportunity to force changes in Qatar’s maverick foreign policy, and to bolster his close alliance with the rulers of Saudi Arabia and Egypt. “Such significant decisions cannot be taken swiftly,” said the foreign minister of Bahrain, Khalid bin Ahmed al-Khalifa.

Source: New York Times July 05, 2017 22:37 UTC