Saudi Arabia Sends Ultimatum to Qatar, Analysts Warn of ‘Military Confrontation’

The Middle East is heating up — and two countries, Qatar and Saudi Arabia — are at the center of a conflict that could result in military action between nations.

Shortly after imposing a naval blockade in the immediate aftermath of the Qatar diplomatic crisis, one which left the small Gulf nation not only politically isolated and with severed ties to its neighbors but potentially locked out of maritime trade and crippling its oil and LNG exports, on Tuesday SkyNews Arabia reported that Saudi Arabia has given Qatar a 24 hours ultimatum, starting tonight, to fulfill 10 conditions that have been conveyed to Kuwait, which is currently involved in the role of a mediator between Saudi and Qatar.

Saudi Arabia gives #Qatar 24 hr ultimatum to fulfill 10 conditions that have been sent to #Kuwait https://t.co/OpWGvvDY7r #Iran #QatarCrisis

— Reza H. Akbari (@rezahakbari) June 6, 2017

مصادرنا: #السعودية أبلغت #الكويت بـ10 شروط يجب أن تطبقها الدوحة خلال 24 ساعة بدءا من هذه الليلة

— سكاي نيوز عربية-الآن (@SkyNewsArabia_B) June 6, 2017

 

While there was little additional information on the Ultimatum and more importantly what happens should Qatar not comply, Al Jazeera reported that Kuwait’s emir, Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Jaber Al Sabah, left Saudi Arabia on Tuesday after holding mediation talks with the Saudi King Salman bin Abdul Aziz to try to defuse an escalating crisis between Arab countries and Qatar. No details were given on the talks.

In addition to Saudi Arabia’s aggressive approach, Egypt’s Foreign Ministry accused Qatar of taking an “antagonist approach” towards Cairo and said “all attempts to stop it from supporting terrorist groups failed”. Qatar denied the allegations, with a Foreign Ministry statement describing them as “baseless” on Monday.

Middle East analyst Giorgio Cafiero was interviewed by Al Jazeera, and said that this ultimatum may ultimately lead to “military confrontation.”

Source: Zero Hedge