The ethnic and religious contradictions in the Middle East are well known to the world, among which the antagonism between Israel and Arab countries, Sunnis and Shiites is particularly prominent.
In fact, what many people don't know is that within the Arab world, there are also huge divisions. For example, the contradictions between Saudi Arabia and Qatar.
Although the two countries have many similarities in terms of population, beliefs, etc., their positions on some issues are very different.
Qatar has been collectively severed by Saudi Arabia and other countries for supporting terrorist activities and undermining the regional security situation, and has been blockaded against it to this day. There are a lot of complicated stories behind this incident.
The feud between Saudi Arabia and Qatar can be traced back to Saudi Arabia itself.
Saudi Arabia is a country with a strong foreign power, and although it is the leading power in the Middle East in terms of national strength, culture, and population, its military capabilities are very weak.
Although Saudi Arabia has imported a lot of advanced American-style equipment, one of the biggest characteristics of its army is that it is "afraid of death". As a result, they tend to feel cowardly when they fight the enemy face to face on the front line.
It is often seen in the news that the Saudi army drives American tanks, but as soon as they see the enemy in front of them, they immediately turn around and run. Now, what is even more excessive is that as soon as he saw someone raising the anti-air **, the fighter pilot actually abandoned the plane and fled.
This makes Saudi Arabia somewhat powerless in the face of external threats. So, while there are many differences between Saudi Arabia and Qatar, their positions on some issues are very different.
The Saudis are too rich, a fighter plane is worth $100 million, and it really doesn't hurt to burn it. Their army is more like a "free convoy" of the enemy, as long as a few shots are fired at the Saudi barracks, the drooling ** will be in hand.
The strength of a country's military strength has a great impact on other countries. Russia is not good economically, but it is militarily strong, so it is able to deter the world.
Although Qatar cannot be compared with Saudi Arabia in terms of area, population, and oil resources, it has another resource - natural gas. Qatar has gas resources of up to 25 trillion cubic meters, three times that of Saudi Arabia.
Therefore, Qatar dared to say "no" to Saudi Arabia, and its modernization development was also ahead of the Saudis. For example, the well-known Al Jazeera, Qatar Airways, a five-star airline, and the modern skyscraper city of Doha are all representative works of Qatar.
The tensions between Qatar and Saudi Arabia stem not only from the two countries' rivalry for leadership of the Arab world, but also from Qatar's close ties with Iran.
As the adversaries of Sunni Saudi Arabia and Shiite Iran, Qatar's frequent interaction with Iran is intolerable for the Saudis, who believe that Qatar should be on the side of the Saudis and not collude with their enemies.
In the northern tip of Qatar and in the middle of the Iranian coast, there is a huge North-Nampas oil and gas field, which is one of the reasons for Qatar's close relationship with Iran.
The North-Nampas oil and gas field is the world's largest known oil and gas field, with reserves of up to 51 trillion cubic meters and 50 billion barrels of oil reserves nearby. The oil and gas field is jointly owned by Iran and Qatar and covers a total area of 9,700 square kilometers.
Qatar occupies 6,000 square kilometers of it, known as the Northern Gas Field, while Iran has 3,700 square kilometers, known as the Nampas Gas Field. The North-Nampas oil fields are vital to Qatar's survival, so Qatar must maintain its relations with Iran.
However, when the conflict between Saudi Arabia and Qatar broke out, the United States also faced a dilemma, because the United States has an important military base in Qatar, Al Udeid, where 10,000 US troops are stationed.