In a last-ditch effort to unite the Gulf against Iran, outgoing U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and President Donald Trump’s Middle East advisor and son-in-law Jared Kushner have both visited the region in the administration’s dying days. But while Saudi Arabia and Qatar have been brought back to the negotiating table, under Kuwait’s mediation, little progress was made on resolving the three-year-old dispute; the trade and travel embargo on Qatar by a quartet of countries—Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, and Egypt—has not been lifted. The Saudis and Qataris have talked, and cordially; the Saudi foreign minister even sent a virtual message that an agreement was “within reach.” And yet analysts remain skeptical of a breakthrough.
The outcome of the long-awaited talks to end the blockade of Qatar fell far short of its expectations. It was also disappointing for the United States, which often struggles to achieve its strategic goals in the region because of the quarrels among its petulant allies. For instance, while Trump was exerting “maximum pressure” on Iran to choke it economically, Qatar Airways was forced by the blockade to use Iranian airspace, with the required payments aiding Iran’s economy in turn. The wider region also bore the brunt of the rivalry as Qatar and the UAE backed opposing factions in several conflicts.
