The United Nations has offered to step in to help resolve a deepening crisis in the Gulf after Qatar was confronted with a list of 13 demands from its neighbors.
UN spokeswoman Eri Kaneko said it expects that the countries involved resolve the situation through dialogue. She said UN is monitoring the situation and ready to assist if requested by the parties. Tensions escalated, after Bahrain, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates presented a list of demands to Qatar overnight.
These included the closure of Al-Jazeera, a downgrading of diplomatic ties with Iran and the shutdown of a Turkish military base in the emirate.
Earlier, on June 5, Saudi Arabia and the UAE led a severing of all links with Qatar for allegedly supporting groups, including some backed by Iran. Other allies, including Bahrain and Egypt, followed.
