Readers may be aware that a number of countries, including Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Bahrain, have recently severed diplomatic and economic ties with Qatar. For further information on the restrictions in play and how they might impact your business, please refer to the Reed Smith Client Alert, which can be found here.

Saudi Arabia has now, via Kuwait which is acting as a mediator, presented a list of requirements, with which Qatar must comply, in order for the sanctions in place to be lifted. These include calling on Qatar to bring its economic and political involvement with Iran in line with US and international sanctions, and the closure of Al-Jazeera.  It is understood that if the requirements are not complied with within 10 days the offer will cease to be valid. It is not yet clear whether, and if so how, Qatar may respond to this most recent development.