Jun 27, 2017

Kuwait has asserted itself as the key mediator amid the three-week-old Qatar crisis. Since three Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states — Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) — severed economic and diplomatic relations with Doha earlier this month, Kuwait (as well as Oman) has been committed to an impartial role in the rift, with Emir Sabah al-Ahmad al-Jaber Al Sabah quickly becoming a negotiator in the simmering row.

Kuwait’s “neutrality” in the GCC rift should come as no surprise given the country’s track record of seeking to bridge gaps between opposing sides in regional crises. Its efforts last year to resolve the Yemeni civil war by hosting several UN-sponsored meetings of leaders from warring factions highlighted the Arab Gulf state’s diplomatic approach to the Middle East’s raging conflicts, despite the talks proving futile.

Although successful mediation by Kuwait is not guaranteed when it comes to the Qatar crisis, there is a general consensus in the Middle East that Emir Sabah Al Ahmad is the leader in the region with the best chances of negotiating a swift resolution to the ongoing row. Across the region, Kuwait’s monarch is a respected mediator seen as wise given his longevity, his place in the GCC’s leadership order and his service as Kuwait’s foreign minister (1965-2003) and prime minister (2003-06).

In the early 1990s, Kuwait began seeing Iran as a bulwark against Iraqi aggression, and it has since maintained relatively normal relations with Tehran. Such ties with Iran position Kuwait to serve as a diplomatic bridge between Saudi Arabia and the other Sunni Arab states on one side and Tehran on the other. On Jan. 25, Kuwait played such a role when its foreign minister, Sheikh Sabah al-Khaled al-Ahmad Al Sabah, traveled to Tehran to deliver a letter from the emir to President Hassan Rouhani and Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif. The rare visit concluded with a Kuwaiti declaration on behalf of the GCC that Iran and the Arab Gulf states must work toward mending relations.

Ultimately, Kuwait maintains a careful balancing act when it comes to Iran. Pressure from Saudi Arabia and other GCC states limits its ability to deepen ties with Iran, as underscored by the events of early 2016 — Saudi Arabia's execution of a Shiite cleric and the subsequent storming of the Saudi Embassy in Tehran — that prompted Kuwait to recall its ambassador from Tehran in solidarity with Riyadh. The ambassador has yet to return although Kuwait and Iran maintain diplomatic relations.