Kushner, Trump's Advisor Heads to Saudi Arabia, Qatar Amidst Rising Tensions

According to press reports in the United States, White House senior advisor Jared Kushner and his staff will fly to Qatar and Saudi Arabia this week for discussions intended on ending the dispute between the neighboring Gulf nations.

On Sunday, a senior government official stated that Kushner would talk with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in the Saudi metropolis of Neom and the days ahead with Qatar's emir in that region.

Since August, Kushner and his staff have supported negotiate regularization agreements among Bahrain, Israel, the United Arab Emirates, and Sudan. The representative had stated that before President Donald Trump gives President-elect Joe Biden authority on Jan. 20, they would want to pursue more of such transactions.

A trip made amidst the tension.

The visit of Kushner follows after the assassination of Mohsen Fakhrizadeh by unknown gunmen in Tehran on Friday. The Western and Israeli regimes claim that the founder of a classified Iranian nuclear weapons program was Fakhrizadeh.

An Israeli representative stated that, days before the shooting, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had traveled to Saudi Arabia and spoken with bin Salman, during the first trip by an Israeli leader that had been made official. An Israeli news network stated that Mike Pompeo, the United States Secretary of State, had joined them.

A report stated that Kushner met with the Kuwaiti foreign minister, Sheikh Ahmad Nasser Al-Mohammad Al-Sabah, last week at the White House. Kuwait is necessary for any attempt to overcome a three-year dispute between Qatar as well as the opposing nations.

For security purposes, the senior administration official spoke to Reuters on condition of anonymity, refused to provide further specifics of Kushner's travel.

The Gulf crisis

The United Arab Emirates (UAE), Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Bahrain severed diplomatic relations, placed ground, sea, and air blockades on Qatar in 2017, suspecting Doha of "supporting terrorism" and released a list of 13 conditions.

Qatar had denied the demands and the claims and suspected the blocking nations of attacking Qatar's sovereignty.

Axios said, quoting US officials, that Kushner is willing to convince the Saudi and Qatari governments to compromise and agree on a variety of issues.

Earlier this month, US National Security Advisor Robert O'Brien claimed that addressing the Gulf crisis had been an aim for the administration but that it could be achieved before Trump left office in January.

"A resolution to the blockade appears to be in sight," author of 'The Gulf Region and Israel" and a known specialist on Middle East politics, Sigurd Neubauer, had told Al Jazeera. "We don't know if it will be before Trump leaves office or when Biden comes in. But it's really not if, but when," he added.

Last month, stating that Riyadh remained "committed to finding a solution," a senior Saudi representative indicated that sure progress was being made in trying to settle the more than three-year conflict.

Prince Faisal bin Farhan had this to say: "We continue to be willing to engage with our Qatari brothers, and we hope that they are as committed to that engagement."

Earlier this month, Qatar's Foreign Minister, Sheik Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, also stated that there had been no champions in the Gulf crisis and that Doha hoped it would be resolve "at any moment."