Newly Released Epstein Documents Reveal Pressure on Qatar to “Sing and Dance” for Israel During 2017 Blockade; Reports Highlight Turkey’s Role in Averting Military Intervention
DOHA/ANKARA – Newly released documents from the estate of disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein have shed fresh light on the intense geopolitical maneuvering that took place during the 2017 Gulf diplomatic crisis. The leaked emails reveal Epstein’s apparent attempts to insert himself into the high-stakes dispute between Qatar and its neighbors, advising that Doha needed to “sing and dance” for Israel to curry favor with the Trump administration. These revelations emerge alongside renewed focus on the critical military support Turkey provided to Qatar during the blockade, which some analysts and reports claim prevented a Saudi-led military coup.
According to a report by the Middle East Eye, an email sent by Epstein on July 9, 2017, to a Qatari businessman—identified in documents as “Jabor Y”—suggested that Qatar’s path to normalizing relations with the United States lay through Tel Aviv. In the correspondence, Epstein reportedly wrote that Qatar needed to “sing and dance” for Israel, drawing a direct comparison to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Epstein claimed that Modi had “danced and sang” in Israel for the benefit of then-President Donald Trump, a tactic he implied had successfully strengthened ties between the two leaders.
The email, part of a tranche of documents released by the U.S. Justice Department, underscores the extent to which private actors and informal channels were utilized during the diplomatic rift. Epstein’s message suggested that if Qatar were to recognize Israel, it could be an “interesting” discussion point for resolving the blockade. Alternatively, he proposed that Qatar contribute $1 billion to a fund for victims of terrorism, a move he argued would help counter the narrative that Doha was a financier of terror—a central accusation leveled by the blockading quartet of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Bahrain, and Egypt.
Turkey’s Military Intervention: A Deterrent Against Regime Change?
While Epstein was navigating the diplomatic backchannels, the situation on the ground in June 2017 was teetering on the brink of military escalation. The blockade, which severed Qatar’s land, air, and sea links, was widely interpreted as an effort to force Qatar’s leadership to align its foreign policy with Riyadh and Abu Dhabi. However, subsequent reports suggest the objectives may have extended to regime change.
Turkey’s rapid military response is now credited by several sources as a decisive factor that may have saved Qatar from a direct military intervention or coup attempt. Immediately following the announcement of the blockade on June 5, 2017, the Turkish parliament fast-tracked legislation to deploy troops to its military base in Qatar. This move was not merely symbolic; it was a projection of hard power intended to signal Ankara’s commitment to Doha’s sovereignty.
Reports from Turkish media, including a notable account by journalist Mehmet Acet in Gerçek Hayat magazine, have alleged that the threat to the Qatari Emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, was immediate and physical. Acet’s report claims that on the first night of the crisis, Turkish special forces were deployed to secure the Emir’s palace. The presence of these troops reportedly deterred a planned military operation by Saudi and UAE forces, who were allegedly preparing to install a pro-blockade member of the Al Thani family in power.
“It is such an important role that without the critical intervention on that day, everything would be different, and the history of the region would be written differently,” Acet wrote, citing government sources. While officials from the blockading nations have consistently denied plans for a military invasion, the closure of the Turkish military base was listed as one of the 13 non-negotiable demands issued to Qatar to lift the embargo—a demand Doha flatly rejected.
The convergence of these two narratives—Epstein’s backchannel pressure to appease Israel and Turkey’s overt military shield—presents a complex picture of the 2017 crisis. On one front, Qatar was being squeezed diplomatically and financially, with figures like Epstein attempting to leverage the situation for influence. On the other, a physical security guarantee from Ankara provided the strategic depth Qatar needed to resist capitulation.
The Middle East Eye report further details how Epstein’s correspondence fits into a broader pattern of lobbying efforts that sought to isolate Qatar. The “sing and dance” comment highlights the transactional nature of the advice being peddled to Gulf states during the Trump era, where proximity to Israel was often marketed as a gateway to Washington’s good graces.
As the region has since moved toward de-escalation, with the Al-Ula declaration in 2021 formally ending the blockade, these historical footnotes serve as a reminder of the volatility of the period. The interplay between shadowy private diplomacy and decisive military alliances defined the survival of Qatar’s independent foreign policy during one of the Gulf’s most fractious chapters.
For more details on the Epstein emails and the specific comments regarding Qatar and Israel, read the full report here:
https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/epstein-said-qatar-had-sing-and-dance-israel-modi-escape-gulf-blockade
* yenisafak.com
