The four countries cited Qatar’s alleged support for the Muslim Brotherhood, which is banned in Egypt, elements of al-Qaeda, Hamas, ISIS, and other Islamist extremist groups, as the reasons for their actions. Qatar has denied supporting al-Qaeda and ISIS, and says its relations with Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood are no different from those maintained by other Arab countries.

The four countries then set a deadline and sent Qatar a list of 13 demands, including the closure of Al-Jazeera, the Qatari-owned Arabic language broadcaster; the severing of links with Iran; the closure of a Turkish military base in Qatar; and the severing of links with Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood. Qatar rejected the demands. The U.S. says some of the demands could be met. Saudi Arabia and the others say the offer no longer stands. Kuwait, which has not joined the action against Qatar, is mediating the crisis.

Rex Tillerson, the U.S. secretary of state, spent last week shuttling among Arab capitals in an attempt to resolve the dispute, though the U.S. acknowledges that will take time. The U.S. finds itself caught in the middle among allies. On the one hand, the Saudis are perhaps the closest U.S. ally in the Arab world and seen as a necessary partner to keep Iran and Islamist extremism in check; on the other, Qatar is home to the largest U.S. military base in the region, from where coalition aircraft strike ISIS targets.

Amid this back and forth lay the question who placed the false stories on Qatari websites? Last month the Guardian reported that an FBI investigation concluded that Russia had carried out the hack, but the Post’s story, based on statements from unnamed U.S. intelligence officials, said the Emirates were behind the hack.

The officials told the Post that senior UAE officials had discussed the hack on May 23. The purported hack occurred one day later. The Post also cited the officials as saying it was unclear whether the Emirates carried out the action itself or had outsourced the task. Either way the impact of the Qatari news accounts has been dramatic in a region not short of drama.