Twitter users from Arab countries, especially from Saudi Arabia, wrote angry comments under a new hashtag: #iranian_military_base_in_Qatar (translation from Arabic).
For example, one social media user wrote on his Twitter account: "I can't believe that Iran has its own base in Qatar. This will only lead to a catastrophe. Qatar will repeat the fate of Iraq. "
شي يقهر ان ايران تكون لها قاعدة عسكرية في قطر والله ما يجي منها الا المصيبة وبيصير لقطر مثل ما صار للعراق#قاعده_عسكريه_ايرانيه_في_قطر
— يوسف المصيبيح (@yosef_1411) 17 июля 2017 г.
Another user went on saying: "Are the Qatari people happy with the events? If people know what is going on and remain silent, then this is either misfortune, or a catastrophe."
#قاعده_عسكريه_ايرانيه_في_قطر
— الـحـنـيـتـم (@ane8_9) 17 июля 2017 г.
سوْال هل الشعب القطري المواطن راضي بما يحدث ان كان يدري وساكت فهذي ام المصايب وان كان مغيب شمسه فهذي كارثه؟؟
At the same time, neither Qatar nor Iran has made any official statements on the issue.
Moreover, a message on Al-Alam News' Twitter page published on July 14, said that the account was hacked by Saudi hackers.
Qatari journalist Saleh Gharib commented on the issue in an interview with Sputnik Arabic.
"There is a military agreement between Qatar and Turkey, and this black PR directed against Iran is aimed at drawing the country into the conflict," as well as "putting pressure on Qatar."
On June 5, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, followed by the Maldives, Mauritius and Mauritania, cut diplomatic ties with Qatar, accusing it of supporting terrorism and interfering with the internal affairs of other countries.
In late June, Kuwait, acting as a mediator in the crisis alongside Turkey, handed over to Doha a list of demands from the four Arab states. The ultimatum included requests to severe Qatar's relations with Iran, close Turkey's military base in Qatar and shut down Al Jazeera news network.
Qatar denied all accusations and refused to meet the ultimatum, missing the set deadline.
