Iran offers food exports to Qatar after Saudi border closes

CAIRO – 5 June 2017: Iran offered to export agricultural crops to Qatar after several Arab Gulf countries cut diplomatic ties with the latter, threatening its food security, Fars News Agency reported, quoting Reza Nourani, chairman of the Iranian union of exporters of agricultural products.

Qatar has a single land border with Saudi Arabia, but Iran is its closest neighbor by sea. “We can ship food to Qatar within 12 hours,” Nourani stated, adding that Qatar imports $4-5 million worth of food from Saudi Arabia, Egypt and the UAE.

The Iranian official said that Iran can export agricultural crops to Qatar through four ports located in the south of the country.

According to a report by the BBC, food is one of the main supplies Qatar receives through its land borders with Saudi Arabia. “About 40 percent of Qatar's food is believed to come via this route,” the British agency reported.

Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain, Libya, Yemen and the Maldives announced early Monday the severance of diplomatic ties with Qatar over "its continuous support for terrorism."