Saudi-led Bloc

For more than a year, a Saudi-led bloc has staged a boycott of Qatar, accusing the Persian Gulf state of sponsoring terrorism and committing other misdeeds. As the months have dragged on, however, Qatar has proved surprisingly resistant to those punitive economic measures.

Qatar's foreign minister said the tiny emirate has U.S. backing to resolve the ongoing crisis with a Saudi-led alliance, but the country is also prepared should its Gulf Arab neighbors make military moves.

A phone call between the leaders of Qatar and Saudi Arabia to help defuse a three-month political crisis ended up causing a fresh spat.

In the ongoing diplomatic crisis in the Persian Gulf between Qatar and a rival Saudi-led bloc, an unusual role is being played by a country thousands of miles away: North Korea.

Efforts to resolve the standoff between Qatar and a Saudi-led alliance have reached an impasse, according to a Gulf official with direct knowledge of the matter, amid signs the bloc wants to extract more concessions from Doha.

Qatar's ruler said his country is open to dialogue -- if sovereignty is respected -- to resolve the Gulf dispute, in his first remarks since a Saudi-led bloc cut diplomatic ties and transport links last month.

Saudi Arabia and its allies presented Qatar with a list of steep demands to end the crisis that has roiled the Gulf for almost three weeks, as diplomats predicted the tiny Gulf state would likely refuse to comply.

For more than a year, a Saudi-led bloc has staged a boycott of Qatar, accusing the Persian Gulf state of sponsoring terrorism and committing other misdeeds. As the months have dragged on, however, Qatar has proved surprisingly resistant to those punitive economic measures.

Qatar's foreign minister said the tiny emirate has U.S. backing to resolve the ongoing crisis with a Saudi-led alliance, but the country is also prepared should its Gulf Arab neighbors make military moves.

A phone call between the leaders of Qatar and Saudi Arabia to help defuse a three-month political crisis ended up causing a fresh spat.

In the ongoing diplomatic crisis in the Persian Gulf between Qatar and a rival Saudi-led bloc, an unusual role is being played by a country thousands of miles away: North Korea.

Efforts to resolve the standoff between Qatar and a Saudi-led alliance have reached an impasse, according to a Gulf official with direct knowledge of the matter, amid signs the bloc wants to extract more concessions from Doha.

Qatar's ruler said his country is open to dialogue -- if sovereignty is respected -- to resolve the Gulf dispute, in his first remarks since a Saudi-led bloc cut diplomatic ties and transport links last month.

Saudi Arabia and its allies presented Qatar with a list of steep demands to end the crisis that has roiled the Gulf for almost three weeks, as diplomats predicted the tiny Gulf state would likely refuse to comply.