Trump rejected Saudi proposal to invade Qatar: report

Trump rejected Saudi proposal to invade Qatar: report
In a phone call with Donald Trump, Saudi King Salman proposed a ground invasion of Qatar.
2 min read
08 August, 2020
King Salman suggested invading Qatar [Getty]
Saudi Arabia proposed a plan to US President Donald Trump to invade Qatar in 2017, a new report has revealed.

According to Foreign Policy, Saudi King Salman spoke to Trump on June 6, 2017, suggesting a ground invasion of Qatar.

Trump strongly rejected the Saudi proposal, and soon after he asked Kuwait to mediate tensions within the GCC states.

In May 2019, the Wall Street Journal revealed that the Saudi army prepared in 2017 a plan to invade Qatar.

The newspaper quoted American, Saudi and Qatari officials as saying that the Saudi plan included the seizure of the North Field of natural gas, the largest of its kind in the world, after the military invasion of Qatar.

Egypt, UAE, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain cut ties to Qatar on June 5, 2017, just after a summit in Saudi Arabia in which Gulf leaders met with President Donald Trump. They say the crisis stems from Qatar's support for extremist groups in the region, charges denied by Doha.

Read also: 'Vindicated Qatar' says blockading states will face justice after ICJ ruling

The four nations have also pointed to Qatar's close relationship with Iran, with which it shares a massive offshore gas field that provides the peninsular nation its wealth. Qatar restored full diplomatic ties to Iran amid the dispute.

Follow us on FacebookTwitter and Instagram to stay connected