SYDNEY — US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said on Monday that they did not expect a decision by some Gulf countries to sever ties with Qatar to affect the fight against terrorism but urged them to address their differences.
Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Yemen, Libya and Maldives severed their ties with Qatar on Monday, because of its support of terrorism.
The coordinated move dramatically escalates a dispute over Qatar’s support for the Muslim Brotherhood and adds its backing the agenda of Iran.
“I do not expect that this will have any significant impact, if any impact at all, on the unified — the unified — fight against terrorism in the region or globally,” Tillerson told reporters in Sydney after meetings between Australian and US foreign and defense ministers.
The region plays an important role for the US military in the fight against Daesh. Bahrain houses the US Navy’s Fifth fleet, which patrols the seas of the Middle East and Central Asia.
The head of Iran’s parliamentary committee on national security and foreign policy says the differences between Saudi Arabia and Qatar is the result of US President Donald Trump’s recent visit to the region
The official IRNA news agency on Monday cited Alaeddin Boroujerdi as saying that because of the signing of a major arms deal between the Saudis and the US during Trump’s trip: “It is not unlikely that we would witness more negative incidents in the region.”
