Trump administration engaged in solving Mideast crises before end of term

The Trump Administration has been engaged in a final effort to solve the Gulf crisis before it leaves office on January 20. Last month, Jared Kushner, senior adviser to the US president, visited Saudi Arabia and Qatar and met with both countries’ leaders as part of this push.

The recent US-mediated talks aimed at resolving the Qatar diplomatic crisis that began more than three years ago may herald wholesale changes in the regional balance of power that will necessarily affect ties among Qatar, Turkey and Iran, analysts say.  

The rift within the Sunni Muslim world erupted in June 2017, when Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt severed relations with Doha and banned Qatar-registered airplanes and ships from using their airspace and sea routes, citing Qatar’s alleged support for terrorism and its close relationship with Iran. Saudi Arabia blocked Qatar’s only land crossing.

Jordan subsequently joined the alliance, which presented 13 demands, including that Qatar shut down the state-owned Al Jazeera news network, for restoring normal relations.

Robert Mogielnicki, a resident scholar at the Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington, told The Media Line that the Trump Administration is working to achieve reconciliation between Qatar and other Arab states in the Gulf, as American officials eyeing their political futures seek to secure an additional foreign policy accomplishment before leaving the White House next month. 

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“The Trump Administration has invested substantial political capital in the Middle East, and they are hoping for quick yields beyond the Israel portfolio,” Mogielnicki said.

Saudi-Qatari fence-mending would reduce Qatari dependence on Iran on several levels, including ending Doha’s reliance on overflying Iranian airspace, he explained. “If Saudi-Qatari reconciliation occurs, the United Arab Emirates would have to decide whether to follow along or chart its own course concerning relations with Qatar,” he added. READ MORE