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Sheikh Abdullah, who lives in London and comes from a wing of the ruling family that was ousted in a 1972 coup, posed for pictures with King Salman at his lavish coastal palace outside Tangiers. (Estimates of the cost of the kings holiday run as high as $100 million expensive even for a monarch who typically travels with an entourage of 1,000 or more.)

Although there was no official explanation for the visit, the Saudi news media played up Sheikh Abdullahs visit as the beginning of a potential challenge to the emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani.

Few analysts believe the emir faces a serious threat, but some Qataris took the move as a provocation, and as further evidence that the true intention of the Saudi- and Emirati-led boycott is to engineer leadership change in Doha.

The diplomatic skirmishes are the latest moves in a crisis that, until now, has largely played out in the news media, amid accusations of hacked emails and fake news stories, and in fruitless efforts at conciliation led by worried Western allies like Secretary of State Rex W. Tillerson.

President Trumps role in the crisis has been hotly debated since he openly sided with the Saudi-led bloc in June, although he has been silent in recent weeks.

The charge that Qatar is too close to Iran resonated with Mr. Trump, who during a summit meeting in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, in May called on Muslim leaders to isolate Iran, a nation that he said fueled the fires of sectarian conflict and terror.

Qatar insists that it maintains cordial relations with Iran out of commercial necessity, in that the two countries share the worlds largest gas field, the source of Qatars vast wealth, and notes that the United Arab Emirates has a far greater trading relationship with Iran.

Doha also says it has shown solidarity with its Sunni neighbors during disputes with Shiite-led Iran, particularly in the January 2016 attack on the Saudi mission in Iran, after which Qatar recalled its ambassador.

Still, Qatars payment last April of a huge ransom to Shiite militants in Iraq, in exchange for a group of hostages that included members of the Qatari royal family, was seen by critics as fresh proof of Qatars reckless approach to foreign policy. The incident further inflamed the already tender relations between Qatar and its neighbors.

Since the dispute flared in June, Iran has provided Qatar with sea shipments of fresh food and allowed a stream of Qatari airplanes to cross its airspace. On Thursday, Irans Foreign Ministry spokesman, Bahram Ghasemi, welcomed the return of Qatars ambassador to Tehran in a short statement. There was no immediate reaction from the four boycotting countries.

Qatar has taken a defiant stance, introducing a raft of measures to ensure the country, whose population is 90 percent foreign, remains attractive to outside investors and workers.

On Thursday, it enacted regulations that give greater protections to foreign domestic workers, many of whom work as nannies, cooks and cleaners. Their limited rights and often poor treatment in gulf countries like Qatar has frequently been a focus of Western human rights groups.

But the strain of the crisis is starting to show on Qatars economy and financial system. Depositors from boycotting countries withdrew billions of dollars from Qatari banks in June, forcing the treasury to step in. Qatars rating with international credit agencies has also taken a hit.

Qatars imports fell 38 percent in June and recovered only slightly last month, according to official figures released on Thursday.

Still, the sanctions have not affected Qatars gas exports, the primary source of its wealth, which grew by 7.8 percent in July compared with a year earlier. Analysts say the effect of the sanctions may lessen as Qatar develops alternate sea and air routes.

Follow Declan Walsh on Twitter @declanwalsh

A version of this article appears in print on August 25, 2017, on Page A8 of the New York edition with the headline: Qatar Restores Full Ties With Iran, Deepening Gulf Feud.

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Qatar Restores Full Relations With Iran, Deepening Gulf Feud - New York Times

Iran's education department has sparked outrage online after banning 'ugly' teachers.

A list by the Ministry of Education details hundreds of illnesses and conditions that prevent people from entering the teaching field.

Most controversial are those relating to teachers' appearances.

The ban includes those with severe acne or eczema, burn marks, unsightly facial moles, or less than 20 teeth. Women with facial hair are also banned.

Other rules regard conditions that would usually be unnoticeable such as female infertility, cancer, bladder stones, or colour blindness.

The list went viral after it was published by the semi-official FARS news agency which pointed out that prospective teachers spend more time undergoing medical tests than they do on training.

Social media users have attacked the rules, calling them ableist, discriminatory, and a clear violation of human rights.

An advisor to the President has since promised that the list would be investigated.

As a result of the backlash, an education spokesperson told the Tehran-based Etemad newspaper that rules specifically targeting women would be removed and the rest of the list reviewed, according to Euro News.

Newshub.

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Iran bans 'ugly' teachers - Newshub

The State

Haley is after nuclear info Iran doesn't want her to have The State U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley traveled overseas Wednesday on the hunt for information about Iran's nuclear program, a hunt that Iran is trying to make difficult. Haley flew to Vienna, Austria, to meet with officials of the ... Trump's suspicious scheme to discredit the Iran nuclear dealThe Hill (blog) Smart Power Update: Iran Allegedly Violates Nuclear Deal, Cubans Secretly Attack US DiplomatsTownhall Iran warns of 'illegal' US pressure on IAEA after Haley's visit to ViennaPress TV Washington Times -Forbes -The Jerusalem Post all 45 news articles »

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Haley is after nuclear info Iran doesn't want her to have - The State

An anti-fascist counter-protester hurls a newspaper box toward white nationalists, neo-Nazis and members of the 'alt-right' during the 'Unite the Right' rally / Getty Images

BY: Adam Kredo August 24, 2017 3:05 pm

Several prominent U.S. companies that have distanced themselves from the Trump administration over its response to the recent violence in Charlottesville, Va., continue to do business with the extremist Iranian regime, sparking accusations of hypocrisy from a leading advocacy group that works to expose Iran's global atrocities.

Major U.S. companies such as airplane manufacturer Boeing, General Electric, and industrial company Caterpillar all issued public statements distancing themselves from President Donald Trump over what they viewed as his failure to adequately condemn the recent riots in Charlottesville, where far-right white nationalists and neo-Nazis clashed with leftist counter-protestors.

While each company was quick to distance itself from the Trump administration and condemn the open racism and bigotry on display in Charlottesville, all three of the corporations continue to do business with Iran, an openly anti-Semitic regime that threatens to murder Jewish people and endorses leading racists such as David Duke.

All of these corporations also have refused to sign on to pledges to refrain from doing business with Iran due to the regime's pursuit of nuclear arms and continued sponsorship of terrorism, including operations targeting U.S. forces.

The failure of these companies to shun business with Iran has prompted criticism by United Against Nuclear Iran, or UANI, a prominent watchdog organization working to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.

These companies have thus far declined to sign a UANI-sponsored pledge from business leaders to cut business ties to Iran.

"While Boeing, General Electric and other companies should be commended for immediately denouncing the events of Charlottesville, it also shines light on their decision to do business with Iran," David Ibsen, UANI's executive director, told the Washington Free Beacon in a statement. "The regime in Tehran is a leading state sponsor of terror, and has deliberately advanced anti-Semitism and hate, while oppressing their own citizens including on the basis of sexual orientation. These companies should immediately sign our Iran Business Declaration and immediately pledge to cease all business with Iran."

General Electric, Boeing, and Caterpillar all rushed to distance themselves from the Trump administration and condemn the violence in Charlottesville.

"GE has no tolerance for hate, bigotry or racism and we strongly condemn the violent extremism in Charlottesville over the weekend," a company spokesman was quoted as saying following Trump's comments about the riots.

Caterpillar similarly issued a statement saying, "There is no room for hatred, racism or intolerance" at the company.

Boeing signed on to a public statement from the CEOs of Business Roundtable stating they "will never accept such intolerance and hate."

However, each of these companies continues to pursue business with Iran and has remained silent as the regime sponsors Holocaust-denial conferences and promotes radical violence against Israel and American allies.

Boeing is facing particular scrutiny from anti-Iran advocacy groups and many members of Congress over its effort to ink a multi-billion dollar deal with an Iranian state-controlled air carrier company that the Free Beacon exposed as illicitly shipping militants to Syria in violation of international laws and the landmark nuclear agreement.

Representatives of Boeing also travelled to Iran earlier this year to meet and ink a deal with a top former Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) member who threatened to blow up U.S. forces in the Persian Gulf.

Boeing continues to court the Iranian regime in pursuit of selling a fleet of new airplanes to Iran Air, a state-controlled carrier that has been covertly shipping Iranian militiamen to Syria using commercial aircraft, a move that violates United Nations restrictions on such behavior.

Iran has a long history of using commercial aircraft, including American-made planes, to transfer weapons and troops across the Middle East. This activity has sparked concerns from lawmakers and U.S. officials that Iran will use any new Boeing planes to boost these operations.

Caterpillar, which has many interests in Iran, has been investigated by the U.S. Security and Exchange Commission and faced "pointed inquiries" over its continued efforts to obfuscate business dealings with Iran and other countries cited as state sponsors of terrorism.

"Since 2010, Caterpillar has faced pointed inquiries from investors, activists and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) into its business interests in three sanctioned countries: Sudan, Syria and Iran," the Peoria Journal Star reported in April.

General Electric also has sent representatives to Iran to explore new business opportunities.

General Electric CEO Lorenzo Simonelli travelled to Iran in early 2016 to "explore business opportunities" there, according to media reports.

Simonelli was among the first U.S. energy executives to travel to Iran following the implementation of the nuclear deal, which relaxed many sanctions barring Western business deals with Tehran.

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Companies Distancing Themselves From Trump Administration Still Doing Business With Iranian Regime - Washington Free Beacon

When it comes to the Middle East the only surprise is when there arent surprises. At the moment, the defeat of Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) strongholds in Mosul and Raqqa in a force led by Hezbollah and Iraqi troops with U.S. Special Forces has led directly to the elevation of Hezbollah as a military entity since it bore the brunt of the combat burden in Syria and paid the highest price in casualties.

Since Hezbollah is a proxy for the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, its enhanced status has given both forces the opportunity for a military buildup on Israels northern border. For Israel this emerging reality constitutes a strategic game changer. Ironically the victories over ISIS, have yielded a strategic failure vis--vis the Shiites.

In fact, the success of Hezbollah has had the added benefit of attracting Shiites across the globe to its revolutionary cause. Moreover, Hezbollah has been able to warehouse up to approximately 150,000 missiles, more than exist in European NATO sites. These missiles are targeted at Israeli cities. To make matters even more complicated for Israels military leaders, the United Nations has confirmed that the Hezbollah missiles have been placed in schools and the Israeli military reports that missiles are also placed in hospitals and community centers. These places will ensure carnage if destroyed and likely yield an anti-Israel backlash across European and Northern American media outlets.

This human shields issue has been discussed in the United Nations as well as in talks among Israel, Russia and the U.S., but it tends to be ignored when anti-Israel sentiment has an instrument to clobber the Jewish state. However, this factor cannot be ignored by military planners anticipating a preemptive strike against Hezbollah missile sites.

As far as Russia is concerned, Iran has assisted in establishing and reinforcing its presence in Syria. While there is probably no love lost between the two states, there are mutually reinforcing interests.

Russian presence in the region gives Iran an ally with advanced weaponry and a clear, unequivocal reason for the maintenance of its position in the eastern Mediterranean. It appears as if Russia believes Iran is a stabilizing force in the Middle East, notwithstanding Iranian promotion of extremist organizations. This stance is not dissimilar from President Obamas suggestion that an assertive Iran can counter the aspirations of the Sunni nations, thereby creating a balance of regional power. The fact that this belief has been rendered nugatory by Iranian actions, seems to be ignored or forgotten by U.S. analysts.

From Israels point of view, there is a desperate need to convince the Trump administration it is being outflanked and outmaneuvered by a combination of Russian and Iranian diplomacy. First the Iran deal on nuclear weapons and now the acceptance of Iran on the border of Israel. With missiles that can reach every major Israeli city, the Iranians are effectively saying checkmate.

Needless to say, Israel will fight to its last citizen in order to challenge the Iranian scenario. But it is still worrisome when one observes the movement of armed forces across the Levant, as well as the capitulation of the U.S. in negotiation.

When Iran and Iraq were preoccupied with the defeat of ISIS, Israel was generally safe from mobilization against it. That condition has changed as quickly as the weather. And whether one agrees or not, Israel will probably be obliged to act against Hezbollah, increasing the chances of all-out war and increasing the odds blood will flow.

Herbert London is the president of the London Center for Policy Research, which conducts research on national security, energy, and risk analysis. He formerly served on the Board of Governors at St. Johns College, the Board of Overseers at the Center for Naval Analyses and the board of the Hudson Institute.

The views expressed by contributors are their own and are not the views of The Hill.

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Iran and Israel are poised for war in Syria - The Hill (blog)