UAE: Qatar Led Syrian Protests to Extremism and Control by Jihadist Groups

The UAE Minister of State for Foreign Affairs has accused Qatar and Turkey of attempting to control the Syrian opposition through the Muslim Brotherhood, and when this did not happen, Doha led the protests towards extremism and the dominance of groups like al-Nusra Front. He also stated that Iran's reaction to the crisis surrounding Qatar has been contrary to their expectations. The Emirati minister's comments were made at Chatham House on July 17, coinciding with a Washington Post report citing U.S. security officials claiming that the UAE was behind the cyberattacks and hacking of Qatar's state news agency, which published quotes attributed to the Emir of Qatar. Anwar Gargash, the UAE Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, stated during a Q&A session following his speech at Chatham House that 'what Qatar has done in Syria has actually been detrimental to the opposition there.' According to Gargash, 'the Syrian revolution actually began with a peaceful mobilization against a ruthless regime. It radicalized for two reasons: because Qatar and Turkey were seeking to have the Muslim Brotherhood take control of the Syrian opposition. When this did not happen, we witnessed Qatar resorting to radicalizing the opposition groups through entities like al-Nusra Front (al-Qaeda's branch in Syria).' The Emirati minister's remarks indicate that Qatar has informed other Arab countries of its actions. Gargash noted, 'The reason given to us was that these are the best fighters currently on the ground, and we will address their extremism later. As a result, most moderate Islamic voices and secular groups were sidelined.' He added that 'the result was that amid the rise of groups like ISIS and others, many in the West came to believe that the Syrian opposition and the Syrian regime were bankrupt... I think Syria is a clear example that one cannot nurture a monster and then control it. This shows Qatar's destructive role in the events that transpired concerning the Syrian opposition.' Previously, the Qatari Foreign Minister described the Syrian government's behavior as the main factor in the 'rise of extremism' in that country, stating that 'Bashar al-Assad's forces are aiding the empowerment of extremist groups by killing civilians.' However, this Qatari official emphasized last December that regardless of the Trump administration's policies, Doha would continue to arm the opposition in battles against the Assad regime. Meanwhile, a research group in Britain, where Anwar Gargash spoke, recently reported that Saudi Arabia - one of the UAE's key allies - is the 'primary' disseminator of extremist Islamism in the UK. In part of the Q&A session, Gargash stated that Iran is not at the heart of the crisis surrounding Qatar but will benefit from the situation. Nevertheless, he mentioned, 'We are currently seeing confusing reactions from Iran that are fundamentally not characteristic of this country [politically].' Gargash explained that this is due to a serious internal confrontation in Iran regarding a president who has a majority vote and wants to prove his effectiveness, and regarding the Revolutionary Guards, which are trying to show that no elections have actually taken place. Consequently, Iran has clearly taken a stance against this crisis and has not reacted as we expected. However, Gargash added that from the perspective of his government and its allies, once the disputes end, Tehran 'will take a position against Saudi Arabia; a government that it sees as its greatest enemy in a highly polarized region.' Since the onset of the Qatar crisis, the Iranian government has occasionally acted to transfer necessities like food to Qatar. Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and Qatari Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani had a phone conversation in mid-June, during which Rouhani emphasized that 'regional countries need more consultation and dialogue to resolve and contain regional crises.' The Iranian Foreign Minister has also called for a 'more active European presence' to resolve the crisis. Although Turkey's support for Doha appears to be more evident, especially as Ankara has sent military forces to Qatar in connection with the agreements made. The dismantling of the Turkish base and a significant reduction in relations with Tehran were among the conditions set by four Arab countries for resuming relations with Qatar. Doha has rejected these conditions. In his speech at Chatham House, the UAE Minister of State for Foreign Affairs emphasized that his country and other Arab nations do not intend to question Qatar's sovereignty. This comes as Doha has named the UAE and Saudi Arabia as the main reasons for the problems that have arisen while accusing them of seeking to disregard Qatar's national sovereignty. During the Q&A session following the speech, reporters specifically asked about the reason for cutting relations with Qatar at this current juncture, rather than in previous years, especially since the UAE itself has been accused of being behind the hacking of Qatar's state news agency; cyberattacks that led to the publication of quotes from the Emir of Qatar criticizing Arab countries, supporting Iran, and groups like Hamas. The publication of these quotes occurred just days before the four countries severed relations. Qatar at that time stated that these quotes were fabricated. On the other hand, the Emirati minister dismissed the Washington Post report, stating, 'We will soon witness the death of this report.' Anwar Gargash mentioned that one of the reasons that led the four countries to cut relations at this current time was the issue of ransom payments during the kidnapping of Qatari citizens in Iraq. The kidnapping that Gargash refers to apparently occurred in southern Iraq at an unspecified time. Afterward, a shipment of money was found on a Qatari private jet in Iraq. The Emirati minister stated that this money was close to one billion dollars, of which '700 million dollars of the amount paid reached the Revolutionary Guards and Iraqi Shiite militias.' On June 11, Reuters reported that it is unclear how the hostages were freed, but the possibility that part of that money was sent to Iran likely incited anger among some neighboring Arab countries, including Saudi Arabia and the UAE. The Iraqi Prime Minister denied the transfer of money to Iran and emphasized that this money 'was absolutely not spent.' Gargash also confirmed that the Riyadh meeting with the U.S. President, which the Emirati Foreign Minister described as 'a very, very successful summit,' was influential in severing relations with Doha. Four Arab countries cut their relations with Qatar a month and a half ago. International efforts, including from the U.S. State Department, to resolve the issues have so far yielded no results.