US Fox News revealed that the UAE had blocked an American-brokered deal to end the blockade of Qatar last week.
The network, in a report today, quoted well-informed sources as saying that after a series of high-level discussions between top leaders from Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, and the United States, an agreement to end the blockade appeared to have been reached last week.
And the American network continued: But we learned that the UAE changed – at the last minute – its course and asked Saudi Arabia to stop supporting the US-backed proposal.
She adds: The delay caused by the UAE temporarily deprived the Trump administration of a decisive victory in foreign policy in the Middle East.
In its report, the network cited the opinions of analysts affirming that it is time for the Gulf Cooperation Council to unite to protect US interests in the Middle East.
She said that the assessment of analysts confirmed that the three-year blockade of Qatar by its Gulf colleagues should be overthrown.
The network quoted Dr. Rebecca Grant, a veteran national security analyst and president of the IRIS Research Foundation, saying: “If President Trump and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo manage to end the dispute between the Gulf Cooperation Council countries, it will be a diplomatic victory – and one of the few victories that can be reached before elections.” The American presidency next November. “
“Resolving this dispute will open the way for better regional cooperation and it will be a useful diplomatic breakthrough,” said Jonathan Wachtel, a global affairs analyst and former communications director for the United States Mission to the United Nations.
The network pointed out that the blockade was aimed at strangling Qatar, but instead pushed the small and strategically important Gulf country to rely on other neighbors such as Iran, Turkey and India to provide food and other necessities. An agreement to end the blockade was expected within months, but instead, the conflict continued for years.
