Qatari ambassador 'back on the job' in Iran

Iran’s semi-official ISNA news agency is reporting that the Qatari ambassador to Iran is back on the job, ignoring the demands of Arab nations who are trying to isolate the energy-rich country.

ISNA reported that Ambassador Ali Hamad Alsulaiti arrived in Tehran on Friday and began working Saturday morning.

Qatar pulled its ambassador to Iran in early 2016 in a show of solidarity after attacks on two Saudi Arabian diplomatic posts in Iran following the Saudi execution of a prominent Shia cleric.

The diplomatic crisis began June 5, when Bahrain, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates cut ties to Qatar alleging it was funding extremists and is too close to Iran.

Qatar and Iran share a massive offshore natural gas field that requires communication between the countries.

"Qatar has shown it is going to go in a different direction," Kristian Coates Ulrichsen, a research fellow at the James A. Baker III Institute for Public Policy at Rice University told AP.

"It could very well be calculated toward reinforcing the point that Qatar will not bow to this regional pressure placed upon it."

There has been no immediate reaction from the Arab nations blockading Qatar.