DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) – Jun 12, 2017- The political crisis engulfing Qatar stems from accusations by its Arab neighbors that it supports terrorism. Qatar denies the allegations, but its ties with Iran and embrace of various Islamist groups have brought intense scrutiny, made it a regional outlier and created enough smoke to suggest a fire. Last week, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain severed ties with Qatar amid a slew of punitive measures. On Friday, the four Arab states upped the pressure by naming 59 people and several charities linked to Qatar on a terrorist list.
Governments across the region routinely cite terrorism as justification to clamp down on political opposition and rights activists…

IRANIAN- BACKED MILITIA HOLDING HOSTAGES FOR RANSOM
A deal negotiated recently to release kidnapped members of Qatar’s ruling family has been a source of anxiety for Gulf leaders, particularly in Saudi Arabia, which views Iran as its top adversary. Qatar reportedly paid hundreds of millions of dollars to an Iranian-backed Shiite militia that had kidnapped the 26 hostages on Dec. 16, 2015 from a desert camp for falcon hunters in southern Iraq.
Egypt has asked the U.N. Security Council to investigate reports that Qatar “paid up to $1 billion to a terrorist group active in Iraq” to free the hostages, which would violate U.N. sanctions. Qatar says it only supported the Iraqi government financially for its efforts in the release of hostages, and that it did not deal with armed groups there. The deal also allegedly resulted in the evacuation of residents of predominantly Shiite villages in Syria, where Iran’s proxies hold sway. Several people close to the negotiations say Qatar also paid a hefty sum to Islamist groups in Syria, including one linked to al-Qaida, for the evacuation of the residents. They told The Associated Press that the talks were probably the region’s most complex and sensitive hostage deal.

IRAN, THE SHIITE POWERHOUSE
Saudi Arabia and Bahrain accuse Qatar of supporting Shiite militant groups in both countries.
Saudi Arabia has also accused Qatar of backing Iranian-allied rebels in Yemen, known as Houthis. However, Qatar was a member of a Saudi-led coalition bombing the Houthis in Yemen. Experts say there is no evidence to support the claims, but that the accusations appear to stem from negotiations for a transfer of power in Yemen in 2012. Qatar and Saudi Arabia were in disagreement over how to go about it, and Qatar was accused of trying to sabotage a Saudi-led initiative by working with Houthis. Qatar’s ambassador in Washington Meshal bin Hamad Al Thani has said that while the country has ties with Iran and shares with it a vast underwater natural gas field its stance is similar to that of other Gulf Arab states.