The comprehensive siege that some Arab countries have launched against Qatar about 10 days ago provides a clearer picture of the Middle East. A front, which was formed by Egypt and the UAE and to which Saudi Arabia and Bahrain later joined, is in a hurry to reshape the region in line with their priorities. Enmity toward Qatar is already due to the resistance it shows to these plans.
Anwar Ashki, whose official title is simply a "retired general,” is the architect of the rapprochement between Saudi Arabia and Israel. Ashki, who frequently led controversy in the Arab public with friendly statements he made to the Israeli press, also attracted attention with his remark that "We support the Great Kurdistan.” He reiterates the necessity to form an alliance with Israel and to live side by side on the common ground of "anti-Iranian” attitude. His Saudi identity makes all of these statements even more interesting.
While all this is happening on the Arab front, the progress of Iran in Syria and Iraq continues. While the Arabs are trying to clamp down on Qatar in the Gulf, Iranian Gen. Qasem Soleimani is busy deploying Shiite militias in fronts that have been liberated from Daesh. If the strife between the Arabs continues a little longer, Iran will be able to open a long and wide corridor to the Mediterranean. This is a sign that vaster conflicts and wars will begin in the region and that the ongoing ones will be intensified.
The Qatar crisis is actually a keystone in this context. If this keystone falls, the existing fragile order in the Gulf may quickly dissolve and that the whole region may be thrown into a series of wars. The Egypt-UAE-Saudi Arabia coalition has a historic responsibility in this sense. We will see whether they will risk sacrificing the region for the sake of suffocating Qatar and the line that it represents.