Saudi Arabia and its allies are expected to sign an agreement on Tuesday officially ending their rivalry with Qatar in an agreement negotiated by senior White House adviser Jared Kushner, a government official confirmed on Monday.
Detente – designed to further isolate Iran – follows a series of historic peace deals in the Middle East mediated by Trump’s White House in recent months, normalizing relations between Israel and some of its Arab neighbors.
Tuesday’s agreement will set in motion the end of a four-year blockade of Qatar by Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Bahrain, which in 2017 accused Qatari leaders of supporting terrorism and aligning with Iran .
Kushner helped broker the deal in recent weeks and flew to Saudi Arabia on Monday to witness the signing at the Gulf Cooperation Council meeting, the official said.
Under the agreement, Saudi Arabia will open its airspace for Qatari planes on the condition that Qatar Airways cancel a $ 5 billion lawsuit against the four nations seeking compensation for the blockade.
The largest US military base in the region is located in Qatar, where it can carry out air strikes against the Islamic State and the Taliban, making Washington a victim of the blockade.
Qatar was forced to redirect its air traffic over Iran, strengthening Tehran, which was earning extra revenue from renting its airspace to Qatar, the Wall Street Journal reported on Monday.
The oil-rich kingdom of Saudi Arabia and its allies launched a diplomatic siege against the smaller Arab kingdom in June 2017 and issued a list of 17 demands, including the closure of the Al Jazeera news network and the downgrading of relations with Turkey and Iran.
Kushner, 39, developed a close relationship with Saudi Arabia’s de facto ruler, Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman, 35, and visited Riyadh in November in an attempt to end the blockade.