CLOSING al-Jazeera and minimising relations with Iran are among the 13 demands that six Arab countries have made of Qatar to end their blockade of the tiny, oil-rich nation. reports Associated Press today.

Crisis mediator Kuwait presented the 13-point list to Qatar, which has yet to respond to the demands, but the list, a copy of which was sighted by Associated Press, includes demands that Qatar has said it would never accede to, such as shutting down al-Jazeera. Qatar has also said that negotiations are off while the blockade is in effect.

Qatar has also previously complained that the six countries were interfering in its sovereign affairs wth their dictates. 

Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain are also demanding that Qatar hand over all individuals who are wanted by those four countries for terrorism; stop funding extremist entities that are designated as terrorist groups by the US; and provide detailed information about opposition figures that Qatar has funded, ostensibly in Saudi Arabia and the other nations.

Qatar must also shut down diplomatic posts in Iran, expel any members of Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guard, and only conduct trade and commerce with Iran that complies with US sanctions. 

Just yesterday, US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson had warned the demands made of Qatar must be “reasonable and actionable.”.

Qatar has denied funding or supporting extremism, but admits that it allows members of some extremist groups such as Hamas to live there. arguing that fostering dialogue with those groups is key to resolving global conflicts.

It would be incredibly difficult, the report said, for Qatar to cut ties with Iran, with which it shares a massive offshore natural gas field. 

On June 5, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and Yemen joined Saudi Arabia and Egypt in severing relations with Qatar, with Riyadh accusing Doha of supporting groups “that aim to destabilise the region”.

Qatar’s neighbours have also accused it of backing al-Qaeda and the Islamic State group. Those umbrella groups also appear on the list of entities whose ties with Qatar must be extinguished, along with Lebanon’s Hezbollah and the al-Qaida branch in Syria, once known as the Nusra Front.

Qatar has been given 10 days to comply with all of the demands, which include paying an unspecified sum in compensation. – June 23, 2017.