Four Arab nations, led by Saudi Arabia, cut diplomatic ties with Qatar on June 5, accusing the country supporting terrorism. The leaders of Saudi Arabia and Qatar finally sat down for a telephone conversation on Sept. 9. Right after the call, The Qatar News Agency reported that President Trump helped to facilitate the call. The Saudi Press Agency dismissed the claim, and said that Saudi Arabia suspended its dialogue with Qatar. A Saudi-led group has demanded 13 conditions be met before lifting sanctions. Among them, the group wants Qatar to close news broadcaster Al-Jazeera and reduce relations with Iran.

To analyze the Gulf crisis we’ll hear from Bessma Momani, a professor of political science at the University of Waterloo in Canada. She is also a senior fellow at the Center For International Governance and Innovation (CIGI).