SEVEN COUNTRIES BREAK OFF RELATIONS WITH QATAR|卡達遭控支持恐怖組織 七國宣布斷交

Gulf country Qatar now in diplomatic crisis. Seven countries in the Arab world, including Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, and Egypt, are breaking off ties with Qatar and cutting off all transportation links over land, sea, and air. The stated reason was that Qatar was supporting terrorist groups, but a deeper cause may be Qatar's relationship with Iran. ==NEWS ANCHOR Saudi Arabian National Television Service== The authorities have decided to break off diplomatic and consular ties with Qatar, and close all land, sea, and air borders. Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Yemen, and Libya have all announced that they are cutting off diplomatic ties with Qatar, exposing a deep rift within the Arab world. Saudi Arabia claimed that the measure was to protect its national security from terrorist and extremist threats. Saudi Arabia accused Qatar of supporting terrorist groups including al-Qaeda, the Islamic State, and the Muslim Brotherhood. It also demanded that Qatar withdraw from a coalition of Arab states against the rebels in Yemen.This diplomatic crisis was triggered by remarks made two weeks ago by Qatar's leader, Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, to the country's state-run news agency, saying that the hostility of the Arab states toward Iran was unwise and that Qatar maintains positive relations with Israel. He also made positive comments regarding Hezbollah, which is supported by Iran. Qatar authorities blamed the publishing of the news story on hackers, but could not prevent the outrage of other Arab countries. Saudi Arabia had recalled its ambassador from Qatar over the country's support for former Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi, who is a member of the Muslim Brotherhood. Qatar also has financial ties to Hamas and provided political asylum to Hamas officials, all of which fueled the current crisis. US President Donald Trump's harsh remarks on Iran in his trip to the Middle East last month also heightened tensions and indirectly contributed to the rift. Qatar's Al Udeid Air Base is the US's largest overseas military base, and US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has attempted to downplay the seriousness of the incident, emphasizing that anti-terrorist operations are not affected. TRANSLATED BY：JOHN CHEN 沙烏地阿拉伯、巴林、阿拉伯聯合大公國和埃及等六個阿拉伯國家，5號宣佈與卡達斷交，停止陸海空接觸，原因是卡達支持伊斯蘭國等恐怖組織，危害區域穩定。更深層的原因，則是因為卡達與伊朗較好的關係。 沙烏地國營電視台主播 當局決定斷絕與卡達的外交及領事關係 同時所有陸海空邊境都將關閉 繼巴林之後，沙烏地阿拉伯也透過國營電視台宣佈，將與卡達斷交，埃及和阿拉伯聯合大公國也跟進，葉門和利比亞也跟進。這個舉動意味著波灣國家出現嚴重分裂。沙國宣稱，此舉是為了保護國家安全，免受恐怖主義和極端主義的威脅。沙國指控卡達支持蓋達，伊斯蘭國和穆斯林兄弟會等恐怖組織，要求卡達退出對抗葉門叛軍的阿拉伯聯軍。 這次外交戰的導火線，是兩週前卡達國營的半島電視台網站，發布了一則領導人阿勒薩尼的新聞, 阿勒薩尼在談話中宣稱，阿拉伯國家對伊朗的敵意是不智的，卡達跟以色列也維持良好關係。此外他還對伊朗支持的真主黨釋出善意。事後卡達當局表示，這則新聞是遭駭客入侵編造的，但已惹惱沙烏地等四國，聯手封鎖了半島網站。 事實上，卡達支持隸屬於穆斯林兄弟會的埃及前總統穆爾西，3年前沙國就曾召回大使抗議，卡達也跟被視為恐怖組織的哈瑪斯有金融往來，還替哈瑪斯官員提供政治庇護。種種因素都種下了決裂的因果。 而美國總統川普上個月訪問中東，將矛頭指向伊朗，再度挑起了區域的敏感神經，也間接導致這一連串的外交風波越演越烈。不過卡達的烏代德空軍基地，是美軍駐海外最大的軍事基地，美國國務卿提勒森試圖淡化事件的嚴重性，強調反恐作戰不受影響。至於卡達預定在2022年主辦世界杯足球賽，是否受到衝擊，仍有待觀察。 記者 曾惠敏 報導