Fahad bin Mohammed Al-Attiyah is quoted as saying: “Talks about the subject are at an advanced stage.”

He added that Qatar was also negotiating purchases of military hardware for Qatari ground troops.

The news comes after tensions escalated between Qatar and Saudi Arabia last year.

In June 2017, Qatar was given 10 days to cut ties with Iran, shut down a Turkish base and close the state funded broadcaster Al-Jazeera or face unspecified consequences in an ultimatum by Saudi Arabia.

Then in October that same year, Qatar accused accused Saudi Arabia of two-faced politics over its suffocating blockade by claiming the boycott was a “shock” to the gas-rich country.

Qatar's Sheikh Tamim said he had no reason to believe Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Bahrain would launch a crippling economic and political crackdown against Qatar. 

At the time a think- tank warned that Qatar’s swiftly shrinking relations with its Gulf neighbours could result in World War 3.

The Gefira foundation said the rivalry, if left unsolved, could result in a “mother of all wars” exploding within the Middle East.

Using World War One and Two as examples, the research group claimed large-scale conflicts are usually triggered by a “single event”.

More to follow…