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Iran Showdown Forces Sign of Breakthrough in Gulf Arab Spat

Qatar to Send Most Senior Official to Saudi Arabia Since Rift

(Bloomberg) -- It took the threat of war with Iran to force Gulf Arab rivals into a show of unity.

Qatar said that Prime Minister Sheikh Abdullah Bin Nasser Al Thani will attend regional summits in Saudi Arabia on Thursday, in the highest-level visit since the kingdom and its allies imposed an embargo on their neighbor in 2017.

The visit, the first concrete step toward ending a rift that severed diplomatic and trade ties, comes amid fears the region may be sliding into conflict as the U.S. raises economic and military pressure on Iran. Saudi Arabia called for three meetings -- one for Gulf leaders, another for Arab states and a third for all Muslim nations -- after attacks on its oil facilities and several ships near the Persian Gulf. Iran has denied any involvement in the incidents.

The crisis should translate into political support for the kingdom and its main ally, the United Arab Emirates, at the summits in the holy city of Mecca, according to two Arab officials who requested anonymity to discuss diplomatic deliberations. “It’s not the right time to be against the Saudis,” one of them, from a Gulf nation, said.

‘Sensitive Circumstances’

Lolwah Alkhater, a Qatar Foreign Ministry spokeswoman, said the decision to send the prime minister was taken due to “the difficult and sensitive circumstances facing the region.”

Sheikh Abdullah will hold meetings with top Saudi, U.A.E. and Bahraini officials, the Qatari-owned Al Jazeera news network reported. Qatar’s emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, is unlikely to attend, it added.

Iran Showdown Forces Sign of Breakthrough in Gulf Arab Spat

Tensions spiked in the Gulf after the Trump administration tightened oil sanctions against Iran to force the Islamic Republic to roll back its missile program and curb its influence in countries such as Iraq, Syria, Lebanon and Yemen.

But speculation that the showdown could lead to a united regional front against Tehran has to be seen against deep-seated divisions across the Middle East, with some of the region’s powers leaning more toward Iran than Saudi Arabia.

One of the Arab officials said the turmoil has yet to force any genuine shifts to heal splits on the ground. It would take very careful wording to get everyone on board, the official said.

Shuttle Diplomacy

Iran preceded the summits by sending its senior diplomats to meet friendly Arab governments in Iraq, Oman, Kuwait and Qatar, telling officials that the Islamic Republic is ready to talk.

“We stand by Iran,” Iraqi Foreign Minister Mohamad Alhakim told a news conference on Sunday alongside his Iranian counterpart. In Turkey, a senior official said that President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, closer to Doha than to Riyadh, is skipping Friday’s summit of Islamic countries.

The Qatar crisis itself has proved surprisingly difficult to solve despite repeated U.S. appeals for unity among its allies, and mediation efforts by Kuwait. Cut off by some of its neighbors, Qatar ended up boosting trade ties with Iran.

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Abdulkhaleq Abdulla, an Emirati political commentator in Dubai, suggested that Saudi Arabia and its allies aren’t necessarily looking for a game-changer in the confrontation with Iran.

The Gulf countries “are happy to see more economic sanctions and greater political pressure on Iran,” he said. “The weaker Iran is, the better for the region as it would impact its ability to support groups outside its borders.”

--With assistance from Alaa Shahine, Lin Noueihed, Ladane Nasseri, Dana Khraiche, Donna Abu-Nasr, David Wainer and Glen Carey.

To contact the reporters on this story: Fiona MacDonald in Kuwait at fmacdonald4@bloomberg.net;Zainab Fattah in Dubai at zfattah@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Alaa Shahine at asalha@bloomberg.net, ;Lin Noueihed at lnoueihed@bloomberg.net, Mark Williams

©2019 Bloomberg L.P.