Saudi Arabia and its allies are expected to sign an agreement on Tuesday that will officially end their dispute with Qatar in a deal negotiated by Jared Kushner, a senior White House adviser, a government official confirmed on Monday.
The detente, designed to further isolate Iran, follows a series of historic Middle East peace deals promoted by Trump’s White House in recent months normalizing relations between Israel and some of its Arab neighbors.
Tuesday’s deal will mark the end of a four-year blockade on Qatar by Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Bahrain that in 2017 accused Qatar leaders of supporting terrorism and align with Iran.
Kushner helped negotiate the deal in recent weeks and flew to Saudi Arabia on Monday to witness the signing at the Gulf Cooperation Council meeting, the official said.
Under the agreement, Saudi Arabia will open its airspace to Qatar planes on the condition that Qatar Airways declare a $ 5 billion lawsuit against the four nations claiming damages for the blockade.
The largest U.S. military base in the region is in Qatar, where it can carry out airstrikes against the Islamic State and the Taliban, making Washington a victim of the blockade.
Qatar was forced to redirect its air traffic over Iran, reinforcing Tehran that was earning additional revenue by leasing its airspace to Qatar, the Wall Street Journal reported Monday.
The oil-rich kingdom of Saudi Arabia and its allies began a diplomatic siege against the smaller Arab kingdom in June 2017 and published a list of 17 demands, including the shutdown of the Al Jazeera news network and the degradation of relations with Turkey and Iran.
Kushner, 39, has developed a close relationship with Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman, 35, and the de facto ruler of Saudi Arabia, and visited Riyadh in November to try to end the blockade.