Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, and the UAE still persist with  their boycott of Qatar, in effect, making them the outcast of the Gulf.

The stated reason for the boycott of Qatar is that they are operative in causing unrest and interference in the governments of the Gulf. Underlying this reason is Qatar’s supposed positive relationship with Iran.

This continues as Saudi Arabia and the UAE proceed with their war on Yemen, a one-sided war in which only one combatant (the Saudis) has the means to inflict damage on the other. The US supports the Saudi war effort.

At least in part, this face-off is another facet of the age-old Sunni-Shia conflict. For most of its 1400 year history, with only isolated exceptions, this conflict has been relatively minor. There has often been intermarriage between the groups.

The question for our day is whether the present Sunni-Shia strife might erupt into something totally unanticipated