Anwar Gargash: UAE not involved in Qatar hacking

A UAE minister has denied his country's involvement in the alleged hacking of Qatari official media accounts and news sites, which preceded the Qatar-Gulf diplomatic crisis. Anwar Gargash, UAE state minister for foreign affairs, said on Monday that a report in the Washington Post newspaper suggesting that the United Arab Emirates arranged for the hacking, is "not true".

"The Washington Post story is not true, simply not true," Gargash said. Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, the Qatari emir, had been falsely quoted in May as praising Hamas, the Palestinian group which governs the Gaza Strip, and saying that Iran was an "Islamic power".

In response, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Egypt and Bahrain cut diplomatic and transport ties with Qatar on June 5, accusing it of supporting "terrorism". Qatar strongly denies the allegations.