The threat of wider wars in the Middle East and the responsibilities of socialists
By Frieda Afary
June 24, 2017 — Links International Journal of Socialist Renewal reposted from Alliance of Middle East Socialists — On June fifth, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt suddenly cut off diplomatic and trade ties with Qatar and closed
their borders to it. The reason stated for this decision was Qatar’s
support for the Muslim Brotherhood movement as well as Qatar’s friendly
relations with the Iranian government. Donald Trump subsequently sent
out a tweet in which he took credit for this move: “So good to see the
Saudi Arabia visit with the king and 50 countries already paying off.”
Turkey immediately announced its support for Qatar and accelerated
legislation to send more troops to its military base in that
country. It also called on Saudi Arabia to end this crisis. The
Iranian government announced that its air space and land borders were
open to Qatar in order to prevent a blockade against it.
Subsequently, on June 11, the Iranian navy sent two battleships to
the coast of Oman.
