Saudi Arabia Demands Capitulation as Qatar Deadline Looms

Qatar Will Give Formal Response on Monday

Update: Saudi Arabia now says they will give Qatar 48 hours to decide, ending Tuesday night

Saudi Arabia has announced that the 10-day deadline for Qatar to give in to a long list of demands will expire Monday, and Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir today reiterated that the demands are “non-negotiable.”

Saudi FM Adel al-Jubair

Al-Jubeir went on to accuse Qatar of “funding terrorism and interfering in other countries’ affairs.” He did not elaborate on this with any specific evidence, but much of the claim of interference centers of Qatari news channel al-Jazeera giving air time to opposition figures from across the region, a policy unheard of elsewhere in the Middle East.

The demands center on Qatar shutting down all media outlets, closing all diplomatic offices in Iran, expel Turkey from a Qatari military base, and agree to pay an undisclosed amount of money in “reparations,” along with many other points.

Qatar’s Foreign Minister insisted that his country will formally deliver their response to Kuwait’s Emir on Monday. The Kuwaiti government has been trying to mediate the dispute, and retains close contact with both sides.

It’s generally accepted that the response to the demands will be “no,” and it is unclear what the Saudis will do afterwards. The United Arab Emirates have suggested that there will be immediate moves to permanently isolate the Qataris.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.