Qatar 'Extends Olive Branch to Iran to Deal with Saudi Pressure'

Relations between Riyadh and Doha had taken a major hit last week after state-run Qatari news agency QNA published controversial comments attributed to Emir Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani.

Al-Thani was quoted as saying, among other things, that Iran is an "Islamic power" that has played a positive role in stabilizing the region. In addition, the Qatari emir supposedly described relations with Israel as "good" and called Hamas the "legitimate representative of the Palestinian people," while criticizing Saudi Arabia and the US for their policies in the Middle East. 
Qatari officials later claimed that the website and media accounts were hacked, but not everyone was convinced.
 
The analyst mentioned three reasons behind the current tensions in the Gulf. Firstly, that Qatar has (always) provided assistance to the Muslim Brotherhood. Then there are the news items with quotes attributed to al-Thani, and lastly, the "olive branch that Qatar has extended to Iran in a bid to tackle the pressure exerted by Saudi Arabia."

He said: "This is seen as a maneuver intended to weaken Saudi diplomacy and the anti-Iranian bloc established in the Persian Gulf."
The increasingly strained relations between Saudi Arabia and Qatar would have a limited effect on the Syrian crisis as groups supported by Qatar and Saudi Arabia are not well-positioned to have an impact on the outcome of the Syrian conflict, he said.