World Events Summary: 31st May – 5th June 2017

Qatari Crisis: Saudi Arabia, UAE and other Sunni states severed diplomatic and transport links with Qatar as a rumbling argument escalated. The UAE accused Qatar of spreading Al-Qaeda’s ideology through its media and harbouring wanted extremists. Bahrain accused Qatar of financing armed groups associated with Iran to carry out subversive acts. A similar argument took place in 2014. 

Ransom Payments: the FT reported that Qatar paid US$1bn to obtain the release of 26 members of a royal falconry party in southern Iraq. It is alleged that US$700m went to Iranian figures and US$200-300m to Islamist groups in Syria. Al-Monitor reported that the Saudi government widened the conflict by having 200 male heirs of the founder of Wahhabism question an unnamed Emir’s heritage. 

Opening a Can of Worms: Al-Monitor reported that the Iraqi Kurdistan Regional Government formally informed the UN Security Council of its intention to hold a referendum on independence – probably by the end of 2017. This raises the stakes considerably when restive Kurdish populations in Iran, Turkey and Syria are taken into account. Could this herald a long-expected carve up of Syria?