Qatar FM to AP: No one has 'right to blockade my country'

DOHA, Qatar (AP) — Qatar's top diplomat struck a defiant tone today, saying no one gave Arab nations the right to "blockade" his energy-rich country, and that the campaign by Saudi Arabia and its allies to isolate Qatar is based on "false and fabricated news."

In a wide-ranging interview with The Associated Press, Qatari Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani repeatedly denied his country funded extremists and rejected the idea of shutting down its Al-Jazeera satellite news network.

He said Qatar as an independent nation also had the right to support groups like the Muslim Brotherhood, despite its neighbors outlawing the Sunni Islamist group.

Sheikh Mohammed's hard line mirrored that of a top Emirati diplomat who told the AP on Wednesday that the United Arab Emirates believes "there's nothing to negotiate" with Qatar.

Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and other countries severed diplomatic ties with Qatar earlier this week and cut off air, sea and land travel to the peninsular nation.

Kuwait's emir is working to mediate the Gulf crisis around Qatar, which is home to a major U.S. military base and the host of the 2022 FIFA World Cup.

"If anyone thinks they are going to impose anything on my internal affairs or my internal issues, this is not going to happen," Sheikh Mohammed said.