Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani abruptly left Tunisia shorty after the start of the 30th Arab summit earlier today, Qatar's official new agency QNA reported, without clarifying the reason for the emir's departure. During the summit, speakers criticised the policies of Turkey and Iran, countries known to have close ties with Qatar. The Qatari emir left the summit during a speech by Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit. Sheikh Tamim was scheduled to give a speech at the summit, which was the first official inter-Arab meeting to be attended by Qatar's emir since a number of Arab countries cut diplomatic ties with Doha in 2017. Egypt, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, and Bahrain cut ties with Qatar in June 2017 over the Gulf country's alleged support for Islamist groups and and its ties with Iran.
