Dubai: Two Gulf officials have accused Qatar of posing a threat to the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) security through its policy of supporting extremism and terrorism and interfering in the domestic affairs of other countries.

Bahrain’s Interior Minister Shaikh Rashid Bin Abdullah Al Khalifa and Saudi Arabia’s Ambassador to Washington Prince Khalid Bin Salman levelled the accusations in interviews in Manama and Washington.

Shaikh Rashid told London-based Asharq Al-Awsat that “Qatar represents a threat to the security of the Gulf countries as long as it continues with its policy of supporting extremists and terrorists.”

“This goes beyond national sovereignty and affects the strength and unity of the Gulf countries against regional challenges. There are many incidents that show Qatar’s negative approach, such as the assassination attempt in Saudi Arabia, the coup plot in the UAE and the plot to overthrow the Bahrain government. By the grace of God, all those attempts failed. Had they succeeded, they would have had major implications,” he said.

The minister said that Qatar had embraced the viewpoint of those who plotted in 2011 to overthrow the government of Bahrain and set up a country based on Welayat Al Faqih (Guardian Jurist).

“We had expected Qatar to adopt a stand similar to that of Saudi Arabia and the UAE, which offered us support and backing,” he said.

Shaikh Rashid added that Doha did not contribute its share of the GCC support programme like other Gulf countries and did not allow gas exports to Bahrain, forcing the island kingdom to import it from far-away China, instead of near-by Qatar.

Commenting on the issue of Qatar naturalising Bahrainis, which has marred ties between the two neighbours, Shaikh Rashid said that Doha failed to make relations between Bahraini and Qatari families a basis of social strength.

“Qatar has turned the matter into a conflict and has targeted the concept of the national identity. The ongoing naturalisation process of Bahraini families affects our social security. Qatar has also threatened our national security through its espionage operations.”

In an interview with the Washington Post, Prince Khalid said that “Qatar’s policies have been a threat to our national security, especially when they interfere in our domestic politics and support extremists.”

“In Syria, they have supported Al Qaida affiliates and some terrorist [Shiite] militias in Iraq. We hope Qatar will stop funding extremism.”

The newly-appointed ambassador added that the Saudi government was “on the frontline of fighting terrorism.”

“There might be people from a lot of different countries who support terrorism, but in Qatar the problem is that it is government-funded.”