Qatar & Iran: Convergence or Divergence? “Agents of Qatar & Iran: Regional Coordination (2)”

Cairo – Military relations between Qatar and Iran reflected high-level co-ordination and co-operation between their regional agents, particularly after the Arab Spring revolutions in 2011 and subsequent incidents, in which agents of the two countries were involved. Although Doha and Tehran had a different vision towards the future of conflict in Syria and in Yemen, they kept the minimum level of co-ordination and avoided direct conflict.

Such high-level co-ordination empowered Doha to play a role in releasing Lebanese people who were kidnapped by Syrian forces in Aleppo in 2012. In addition, the Qatari capital mediated to release nuns kidnapped in the Syrian city of Saidnaya in exchange for Syrian detainees, including ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi’s wife.

The role played by Qatar today in Syria sends a strong message that there is harmony between Doha and Tehran, especially in the Qatar-brokered deals between Al-Nusra Front, Assad’s regime and Iranian militias to displace people from areas plagued by sectarian strife.

Qatar and the Houthis

The Houthi-Qatari relations began after Doha brokered a deal to end firefight between the Yemeni troops and Houthis, which left a large number of the two sides dead and injured during the period from January 28, 2007 and till June 2008.

Back then, the Yemeni army said the Qatari mediation rescued the Houthis from a crushing defeat and accused deposed president Ali Abdullah Saleh of receiving funds from Qatar to ink the deal. Later on, the Houthis revoked the truce agreement and declared war on the Yemeni army, prompting Saudi Arabia to intervene to put an end to this war.

Over again, Qatar intervened to sponsor the signing of an agreement between the Yemeni government and Houthis on June 21, 2010, which helped the Houthis to be a key player on the Yemeni scene. Throughout this period, Qatar has been harnessing its political, diplomatic and media tools to support the Houthis in their fight against the Yemeni government.

Hezbollah and Qatar:

Qatar’s mediation to end the 18-month political dispute in Lebanon in 2008 prompted former speaker of the Lebanese Parliament Nabih Berri, who was close to the Lebanese Hezbollah group, to thank Qatar for its efforts to maintain Lebanon’s unity. Despite Qatar’s support for Hezbollah and its ally March 8 Alliance, it was necessary to conclude this agreement to end the turmoil in Lebanon, particularly after Hezbollah militias closed many economic and political centers in Beirut.

The visit paid by former emir of Qatar Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani to Lebanon in 2010 helped Hezbollah to take the lead in Lebanon. The former Qatari emir had paid a visit to the Hezbollah-dominated southern suburbs of Beirut and toured the villages reconstructed by Qatar following the war with Israel in 2006.

A large number of Hezbollah leaders were keen to take part in the popular reception given to the Qatari emir. Later on, Hezbollah launched a media campaign, unveiling a new regional axis, made up of Syria, Iran and Qatar, in the face of Arab moderate countries.

Hezbollah and Qatar: The same policy despite differences

Following the outbreak of the Syrian revolution and Qatar’s support of the opponents of the Syrian regime, Qatar’s relations with Hezbollah witnessed some turbulence, prompting Hezbollah General Secretary Hassan Nasrallah to criticize Doha several times in his speeches, but this did not last long.

On December 3, 2013, Hassan Nasrallah said in an interview with the Lebanese OTV channel that Qatar might change its policy and strategy in the region. Such remarks came after media outlets spoke of a meeting between Nasrallah and a Qatari envoy, who visited Beirut in November 2013 carrying a message from the Qatari emir.

Lebanese papers said Qatari rulers were ordered to change their policy in line with the Syrian and Iranian policies if they want to have a strong presence on the international arena.

The Lebanese Al-Akhbar newspaper explained that Qatar insisted on informing Hezbollah of its desire to restore relations with Damascus and with Syrian president Bashar Al-Assad. In doing so, Doha offered to provide the Syrian regime with financial support and information on the Syrian opposition in response to Saudi Arabia’s bids to undermine the Muslim Brotherhood’s role in the Syrian revolution, in favor of Syrian opposition leader Ahmad Jarba.

In April 2016, Qatar was involved in a deal with Hezbollah to release 28 fishermen; 11 of whom were belonging to the Qatari ruling family, who were kidnapped during a fishing trip on the Syrian-Iraqi border in January 2016 following 16-month negotiations.

In April 2017, Qatar was involved in a deal with both Sunni and Shi’ite militants in Iraq and Syria. The deal had two goals. The immediate goal was to secure the return of 26 Qatari hostages (including Qatari royals) who had been kidnapped by Shi’ite militants while falcon hunting in Southern Iraq [in January 2016] and kept in captivity for more than 16 months. The second goal was to get both Sunni and Shi’ite militants in Syria to allow humanitarian aid to pass through and allow the safe evacuation of civilians.

On April 22, Al-Akhbar quoted well-informed Iraqi sources as saying that Lebanon-based Hezbollah had exerted strenuous efforts to release Qatari hostages in Iraq render this deal a success.

According to the New York Times, this deal allowed the evacuation of at least 2,000 civilians from the Syrian village of Madaya alone.

What is outrageous, to say the least, was the outlay of money Qatar had to pay to secure the deal. According to the Financial Times Qatar paid $700 million to Iranian-backed Shi’a militias in Iraq, $120–140 million to Tahrir al-Sham, and $80 million to Ahrar al-Sham.

Egyptian Journalist and Member of Parliament, Dr. Abdel Rehim Ali is an expert on Islamist Movements and political Islam. This essay is adapted from his upcoming book “Qatar: The Destabilizer of the Middle East: The Full Story of Grand Conspiracy,” which will be published later this month.