Qatar is a tiny peninsula, sharing its only land border with Saudi Arabia which is the de-facto leader and hegemon of the seven Gulf states; the states are Iraq, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates.

Iraq did not join the boycott, and continues to strengthen its political and financial relationship with Qatar. The border, with Saudi Arabia's Rub al-Khali desert on one side, is just 41 miles long.

Until the blockade, the border processed 40% of Qatar's food imports. Since June 5, 2017, it's been closed, a result of the massive fallout between the Saudi-led GCC and Qatar.

The spark which ignited the fallout was a comment allegedly made by Qatar Emir Sheikh Tamim cited in state media. It slammed Saudi Arabia, and praised their nemesis Iran.

Tamim was alleged to have said : "There is no reason behind Arabs' hostility to Iran and our [Qatar's] relationship with Israel is good."

Qatar says the state media outlet was hacked by the UAE, and that Sheikh Tamim did not make the comments.The statement were deleted immediately.

In June 2017, Saudi Arabia cut all diplomatic and trade ties with its neighbor Qatar in dramatic circumstances, shunning the peninsula.

The Saudis, backed by several Gulf states who consider Saudi to be the regional hegemon, accused Qatar of supporting terrorists and siding with Iran, Saudi Arabia's arch nemesis.

Qatar's only border, shared with Saudi Arabia, used to let in 40% of all Qatar's food imports. It was closed, and remains a ghost-town to this day.

The dispute hit new heights in late 2018, when Saudi Arabia said it planned to entirely sever Qatar from the mainland by digging a huge canal.