Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Egypt and the UAE Have Cut Ties With Qatar

Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Egypt and the UAE Have Cut Ties With Qatar Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Egypt and the UAE Have Cut Ties With Qatar (DUBAI, United Arab Emirates) — Four Arab nations cut diplomatic ties to Qatar early Monday morning, further deepening a rift among Gulf Arab nations over that country's support for Islamist groups. Bahrain, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates all announced they would withdraw their diplomatic staff from Qatar, a gas-rich nation that will host the 2022 FIFA World Cup. Saudi Arabia also said Qatari troops would be pulled from the ongoing war in Yemen. All the nations also said they planned to cut air and sea traffic to the peninsular country. It wasn't immediately clear how that would affect Qatar Airways, one of the region's major long-haul carriers. The airline and Qatari government officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment.