Washington Seeking to Prevent Collapse of PGCC: Analyst

Speaking to the Tasnim News Agency, Siamak Baqeri pointed to the US attempts to mediate between Riyadh and Doha and said, “In this regard, the Americans are pursuing several goals.”

“Their first goal is the management of the crisis (Qatari-Saudi disputes) and control its consequences as far as possible,” he said.

The analyst added that Washington is also seeking to find a way to prevent Tehran from using the disputes as an opportunity.    

He further pointed to the possibility of the dissolution of the PGCC and said when the Qataris threatened to leave the organization, the Americans were alarmed by the move, trying to prevent the collapse of the PGCC.

A Saudi-led bloc, including the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, and Bahrain, have cut diplomatic ties and also all land, sea, and air contacts with Qatar, accusing the Persian Gulf country of supporting terrorism and interfering in their internal affairs.

Initially, the bloc issued a tough 13-point list of demands needed to resolve the crisis, including shutting down news outlets including Al Jazeera, cutting ties with Islamic groups such as the Muslim Brotherhood, limiting ties with Iran and expelling Turkish troops stationed in the country.

Qatar refused to bow to the demands within a 10-day deadline.

US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson on Friday urged the four Arab states to lift a "land blockade" on Qatar, saying the US is satisfied with the Persian Gulf nation's efforts to implement an agreement aimed at combating terror financing, according to the Al Jazeera news network.

"They have been very aggressive in implementing that agreement, so I think we're satisfied with the effort they're putting forth," Tillerson told reporters just before meeting with Omani Foreign Minister Yusuf bin Alawi bin Abdullah at the State Department on Friday.

The July 12 agreement between Qatar and the US seeks to "track down and disable terror financing" and was signed during a visit to Doha by Tillerson.