JEDDAH: A senior US scholar has urged Washington to ensure that Qatar ends its support “once and for all” for the Muslim Brotherhood, Hamas and other jihadists.
The US “must work to resolve the current crisis to ensure that outside actors such as Iran and Russia are not able to exploit disunity among America’s allies in this crucial region,” David Andrew Weinberg, who previously served as a Democratic professional staff member at the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, wrote in The National Interest magazine. 
He said Qatar’s support for the Muslim Brotherhood has long been an underlying concern for the Saudis, but “it was the Iranian dimension that appears to have moved them in favor of confronting Qatar.”
Recalling the tense Saudi-Qatari relationship, Weinberg said in 2002 Al-Jazeera broadcast spurious stuff that led Saudi Arabia to withdraw its ambassador from Doha for the next five years.
“During that period, Qatar doubled down on its maverick foreign policy, lending a degree of political and even economic support to Iran and several of its proxies, such as Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Assad regime in Syria,” he wrote.
“Saudi Arabia’s foreign policy became somewhat more conventional as a result of facing down an internal Al-Qaeda insurgency from 2003 to 2006.”
According to Weinberg, Qatar jumped at the chance to profit from Saudi Arabia’s loss when Washington looked for an alternate location for its Combined Air and Space Operations Center, moving this crucial air base in 2003 from Saudi territory to Qatar’s Al-Udeid.
“Since then, the base has provided Doha with a measure of impunity from US pressure and considerably reduced Qatar’s reliance on any of its Gulf neighbors for defense,” he said.
By 2007 and 2008, however, the possibility of an American strike against Iran’s nuclear program — and the specter of Iranian retaliation against US forces in Qatar — reportedly helped persuade Doha to mend fences with Riyadh. Al-Jazeera toned down its criticism of Saudi Arabia, and the Saudi ambassador returned.
According to Weinberg, the story of the current tension dates back to 1990 and can be traced to the contrasting Saudi and Qatari views on two dangerous forces: Iran and the Brotherhood.
When Saddam Hussein’s Iraqi forces conquered Kuwait in 1990, the move set some of Gulf states on divergent paths.
“Riyadh came under pressure from local Brotherhood-influenced preachers who demanded political concessions, including the end of the Kingdom’s arrangement with the US military. The Saudis terminated their cozy relationship with the Brotherhood,” he wrote.
Qatar, on the other hand, took a separate path. According to Weinberg, the ferocity of Saddam’s attack on Kuwait was a lesson to Qatari leaders that their nation’s survival required building influence with great powers, and perhaps even non-state actors, beyond the Arabian Peninsula. “In time, Qatar emerged as the strongest backer of the Brotherhood in the region,” he pointed out.
After the outbreak of the Arab Spring in 2011, Qatar threw its full weight behind various Muslim Brotherhood movements in a bid to challenge the existing order. “This pulled Riyadh and Doha apart yet again,” wrote Weinberg.
Qatar’s support of Brotherhood militias or political parties across the region deeply alarmed Arab states.
These tensions were most visible over Egypt, where Qatar bankrolled Muhammad Mursi’s Brotherhood government only to see it toppled.
Doha, meanwhile, upped its support for the Brotherhood’s most violent regional branch, taking in senior Hamas leaders such as Khaled Meshaal when the group’s leaders fled the growing turmoil in Damascus.
Over time, Hamas military and political operatives made their way to a comfortable safe haven in Doha.
Eventually, the late King Abdullah threw his lot with the Emiratis on a plan to bring Qatar to heel, withdrawing their ambassadors from Doha in March 2014 and persuading tiny Bahrain to do the same.
That Gulf crisis dragged on for most of the year, until Qatar caved when faced with the threat of a potential Saudi land and air blockade.
Qatar shuttered a branch of Al-Jazeera focused exclusively on critical coverage of Egypt, and expelled seven Brotherhood figures.
But Doha’s broader pledges, such as stopping incitement and its support for radical Islamists, have largely come to naught.
“Saudi press reports that Qatar’s foreign minister met with Iranian terror master Qasem Soleimani in Baghdad in mid-May provide an added explanation for Riyadh’s anger at Doha,” Weinberg added.
Analyst urges US to ensure Qatar ends support for terror
Analyst urges US to ensure Qatar ends support for terror
Japan, UNOPS sign $4.6m project to restore customs capacity at major Yemeni ports
- The notes for the project were signed and exchanged in Riyadh on Thursday
RIYADH: Japan and the United Nations Office for Project Services have signed an agreement for a new grant aid project aimed at improving customs functions at key ports in Yemen.
The notes for the project were signed and exchanged in Riyadh on Thursday by Yoichi Nakashima, Japan’s ambassador to Yemen, and Muhammad Usman Akram, representative and director of the UNOPS Operational Hub in Amman. The grant amounts to 732 million yen (approximately $4.6 million).
The initiative, titled “The Project for the Improvement of Customs Functions at Major Ports,” seeks to address mounting operational challenges facing Yemen’s customs authorities after years of conflict.
Officials said damage to cargo inspection infrastructure, particularly X-ray screening systems, has significantly reduced inspection capacity at customs facilities. As a result, only about 20 percent of cargo entering through affected ports can be scanned, while the remaining shipments are subject to manual inspection.
This imbalance has contributed to prolonged clearance times and increased risks, including the potential smuggling of weapons, narcotics and other prohibited goods, according to statements delivered at the ceremony.
The project will focus on three major entry points: Aden Sea Port in Aden Governorate, Al-Shihn Land Port in Al-Mahra, and Al-Wadiah Land Port in Hadramout.
Under the agreement, Japan will fund the rehabilitation of X-ray inspection systems and the provision of modern detection equipment. The program also includes capacity development measures, including specialized training for Yemeni customs officials.
Speaking at the event, Nakashima said the project was designed to strengthen the operational capabilities of the Yemeni Customs Authority over an 18-month period. Improving inspection efficiency would help accelerate procedures while reducing reliance on manual checks.
Strengthening customs systems was expected to facilitate smoother trade flows and improve the handling of humanitarian shipments, which remain critical amid Yemen’s ongoing humanitarian crisis, he added.
UNOPS representative Akram described the agreement as a significant step forward in supporting Yemen’s customs authorities through Japanese funding.
“Today marks a significant step forward in strengthening the Yemeni Customs Authority through vital and much appreciated funding from our longstanding partner, the Government of Japan,” he said during the ceremony.
He added the project aimed to address key operational challenges facing the Yemen Customs Authority and enhance efficiency by strengthening institutional capacity in cargo inspection and clearance procedures.
According to Akram, the initiative is expected to reduce the time and costs associated with importing goods into Yemen, including humanitarian assistance.
To achieve these objectives, UNOPS will draw on its procurement expertise to acquire cargo inspection devices and critical spare parts required to restore existing vehicle and container scanners, alongside other necessary equipment.
Akram added that the program will also include capacity-building and training components to support effective operationalization of the upgraded systems.
He said Yemen had a historical role as a major trading crossroads linking the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, describing the measures under the project as an important step toward revitalizing and modernizing the country’s customs infrastructure.
The improvements, he said, were expected to facilitate trade, strengthen revenue collection and support the Yemeni government’s broader reconstruction and development priorities.
Akram also expressed appreciation to the Government of Japan for its continued partnership, as well as to Yemeni authorities for their cooperation in facilitating operational and logistical processes related to UNOPS projects.
“UNOPS remains committed to supporting the efforts of the Government of Yemen towards reconstruction and sustainable development with the valuable support of the international community,” he said.
Yemen’s Deputy Finance Minister Hani Wahab welcomed the agreement, describing the project as a major step in improving customs infrastructure and operational efficiency.
Speaking during the ceremony, he said the initiative would contribute to modernizing automated inspection systems, providing spare parts for equipment and supporting personnel training. He added improved customs capacity would help facilitate trade, strengthen revenue collection and combat the trafficking of illegal goods.
Nakashima also highlighted Japan’s broader development engagement with Yemen, saying the country had provided technical support in customs management through training programs implemented by JICA in recent years.
With the latest grant, total Japanese assistance to Yemen since 2015 has reached approximately $497 million. Japan said it would continue working with UN agencies and international partners to support peace and institutional resilience in Yemen.
