As Qatar was isolated from its Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC members) Wednesday – actions taken by Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt include a ban on transport, financial isolation and breaking of diplomatic ties – the focus is now on accommodation at the negotiating table, several bank reports note. With the influential shipping channel Strait of Hormuz hanging in the balance, the official line is that “dialogue is imperative,” but at what cost to the Qatari economy?

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Actions by GCC Members – UAE to impose 15-year prison sentence for anyone speaking out in favor of Qatar

Qatar is being ostracized by GCC members for their support of Iran and alleged backing of terrorism, the topic of a recent tweet by President Donald Trump: “During my recent trip to the Middle East I stated that there can no longer be funding of Radical Ideology. Leaders pointed to Qatar – look!”

Trump’s statements in the region appeared to embolden GCC nations to take action they had on their agenda. US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, speaking from Sydney, Australia, diplomatically explained the GCC action saying there was a “growing list of some irritants in the region that had been there for some time, and they bubbled up to a level that countries decided they needed to take action.”

Open discussion of the Qatari situation was quickly censored in GCC member state United Arab Emirates (UAE). Expression of a counter opinion would be met with a 15 year prison sentence and stiff fine imposed on “anyone who shows sympathy or any form of favouritism towards Qatar, or against anyone who objects to the position of the UAE, whether through social media, or any other forms of communication,” UAE Attorney-General Dr Hamad Saif Al Shamsi warned. “The tough decisions were taken in order to protect UAE’s national security, its supreme interests and interests of its people.”