Trump Administration seeks to resolve Arabian Gulf differences to hit Iran economically

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Despite approaching the end of his term, outgoing U.S. President Donald Trump has indicated his intention to continue to tighten the political and economic stranglehold on Iran.

The New York Times reported that the Trump Administration is seeking to persuade Saudi Arabia to open its airspace to Qatari aircraft in order to deprive Iran of the revenue of fees paid by Qatar for transiting into Iranian airspace.

Iran is currently benefiting from fees of up to $100 million a year in exchange for opening its airspace to Qatari aircraft, the paper said.

In recent days, Jared Kushner, Presidential Advisor and Trump’s son-in-law, and other White House officials have been touring the Arabian Gulf region seeking to resolve the dispute between Saudi Arabia and Qatar.

The newspaper, quoting a U.S. diplomatic source, reported that Kushner and his delegation, during their meeting with Qatari leaders on Wednesday, raised the issue of changing the course of Qatari commercial flights from Iranian to Saudi airspace.

It is not yet clear whether the United Arab Emirates was involved in the discussions about opening its airspace to Qatar, the newspaper added.