⁍ U.S. Special Envoy for Iran Brian Hook said on Sunday a rift between Qatar and some of its other Gulf Arab allies had lasted too long.

---

⁍ Hook is in the Middle East to urge the extension of a United Nations arms embargo on Iran.

---

⁍ Hook is in the Middle East to urge the extension of a United Nations arms embargo on Iran.

---

– The US special envoy for Iran on Sunday urged Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Egypt, and other Arab states to end a dispute with Qatar that has been going on for more than a year. “The dispute has continued for too long and it ultimately harms our shared regional interests in stability, prosperity, and security,” Brian Hook told reporters in Qatar after meeting with the Gulf state’s foreign minister, per Reuters. “Bringing an end to this dispute really will advance the collective interests of all the parties to this conflict.” Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain, and Egypt cut ties with Qatar in June 2017 over accusations that it supports terrorism. Qatar denies the charges and says the bloc aims to infringe its sovereignty. Hook said he would raise the dispute with Kuwaiti officials and hoped that the hospitalization of its 91-year-old ruler would “not have any negative effect on diplomatic efforts.” Hook said he believed Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah, who is in the United States receiving medical treatment, would want Kuwaiti efforts to continue. Diplomats and Gulf sources have told Reuters the US has been trying to convince Saudi Arabia and its allies to reopen their air space, which they closed to Qatar three years ago, but that the mediation efforts since the start of 2020 have yet to succeed.