Turkey and Iran reject 13 demands to Qatar

Four Arab countries have given Qatar 10 days to meet 13 demands to end diplomatic and economic isolation. Both Iran and Turkey have slammed a list of demands issued by four Arab states to resolve a diplomatic and economic crisis with Qatar as "disrespectful" and "unacceptable". Earlier in June, several nations across the Arab world cut ties with Qatar after repeatedly accusing it of destabilising the region, a charge that Doha denies.

 The International Business Times reports in its article Qatar crisis: Turkey and Iran slam list of 13 demands as 'disrespectful' and 'unacceptable' that on 24 June, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Egypt and Bahrain laid down 13 conditions Qatar needs to meet in ten days to solve the crisis. The demands include closing state-funded news outlet Al Jazeera, closing a Turkish military base and reducing ties with Iran. Doha said it was reviewing the list, but added it was not actionable. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said the demands were in breach of international law and said Ankara will not pull out troops from Qatar. "To ask Turkey to pull out its troops from Qatar is firstly disrespectful behaviour towards us," he said in Istanbul, according to Reuters. "We don't need permission from anyone to establish military bases among partners. We endorse and appreciate Qatar's stance towards the 13 demands. It's a very, very ugly approach to try to interfere with our agreement." The leader added Turkey had offered Saudi Arabia to establish a military base there, but never received an answer. "If Saudi Arabia wants us to have base there, a step towards this also can be taken," he said. "I made this offer to the king himself and they said they will consider this. They did not come back to us since that day and even though they still didn't come back to us on this, asking Turkey to pull back its troops (from Qatar) is disrespectful against Turkey."

Echoing similar views, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said the ongoing isolation of Qatar was "unacceptable" and he reiterated the country's support to Qatar. "We believe that if there is a conflict between regional countries, pressure, threats or sanctions are not the right way to resolve differences," Rouhani told Qatar's emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani in a telephone call, according to state news agency IRNA. "The siege of Qatar is unacceptable to us... The airspace, land and sea of our country will always be open to Qatar as a brotherly and neighbouring country," he continued.

The diplomatic and economic isolation of Qatar has sparked what has been deemed one of the worst crises in the Gulf in recent years. It prompted Qatari citizens to stockpile goods amid fears food and water stocks would deplete as the country depends on food imports. Iran and Turkey have dispatched food supplies to Qatar. Ankara also sent a small contingent of soldiers and armoured vehicles.