The Qatar incident

Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Bahrain severed their ties with Qatar on Monday, accusing it of supporting Islamist groups, opening up the worst rift in years among some of the most powerful states in the Arab world. The coordinated move dramatically escalated a dispute over Qatar's support of the Muslim Brotherhood, the world's oldest Islamic movement, and added accusations that Doha even backs the agenda of regional rival Iran. Announcing the closure of transport ties with Qatar, the three Gulf states gave Qatari visitors and residents two weeks to leave their countries. Qatar was also expelled from a Saudi-led coalition fighting in Yemen. To make sense of all this, we are joined on the line by:Naeem Jeena: Executive Director of the Afro-Middle East Centre Zeenat Adam: An independent International Strategist