US President refuses to meet Qatari Emir over its close association with Iran

US President Donald Trump refuses to meet Sheikh Tamim Al-Thani, Qatari Emir, over the Arab nation’s ties with terrorist outfits like Muslim Brotherhood and for supporting Iran revolutionary guards. In an unprecedented move, US blacklisted Iran’s elite force – Iranian revolutionary guard Corps – as a terrorist organisation, earlier this month. The move was made to build. pressure on Iran to curb its support for extremist groups and extremist ideology in the region. The move has been supported by a majority of the Middle East nations, except Qatar, Turkey and Iraq, who call it a one-sided decision to corner Iran.

In response to US labelling of IRGC, Qatar said that no country can declare another country’s armed forces a terrorist organization. It also suggested that

US should deal with Iranian army’s behaviour, by exploring other routes like sanctions.

Qatar’s soft corner for IRGC stems from the fact that IRGC forces were used by Sheikh Tamim for his security inside his palace. Two years ago he also gave a statement, hinting at Qatar’s close ties with Iran. He said there was “no wisdom in harboring hostility toward Iran.” The two nations have also become closer as other nati0ns have drifted away from them for their support for terrorism and establishing insurgent training camps.

Amid the intensifying of the Middle East crisis, US is struggling to introduce a Middle East plan in order to bring stability and economic prosperity in the region. For the same reason, US is trying to distant itself from all the nations which are supporting terrorist activities, and Qatar’s name has repeatedly surfaced in this regard.

Also, Qatar’s interference in Libyan civil war, if not controlled can destabilize the entire region. The state of war in the African country has intensified to such an extent that the international peacekeeping forces including those from India and the United States were withdrawn. Qatar’s intrusion in Libya’s internal affairs is also a direct violation of the United Nations’ 2006 Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy.

Besides sponsoring terrorism through conventional channels, Qatar is now switching to more sophisticated routes, including information terrorism. The Gulf state is altering the face of international journalism, especially the American media by paying millions of dollars to influence and manipulate the global public opinion.

Through Nathan Thrall’s article published last month in the New York Times Magazine, Qatar is being seen as trying to promote anti-Semitism. It was also found that Thrall was getting indirect funds through Qatar in the name of support for his organisation.

Qatar’s double-dealings were revealed multiple times including earlier this month when an American media agency, Conservative Review, ran a full report revealing how four of the CNN’s national security analyst had undisclosed ties with Qatar, two of whom were full-time employees. Qatar allegedly hit back at its regional rivals by using its pawn analyst at CNN.

Some suggest that Qatar should be welcomed back into America’s good graces only after it alters its behaviour.