Officials from Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt have said that they now want Doha to accept six broad principles rather than the list of 13 demands that Qatar has rejected.

Speaking to reporters at the at the UN in New York, diplomats from the four Arab nations said that they now wanted Qatar to accept six broad principles instead of the list of 13 demands they set in late June.

The principles are said to include commitments to combat terrorism and extremism and to end acts of provocation and incitement.

The London-based BBC reports that Saudi permanent representative Abdullah al-Mouallimi said their foreign ministers had agreed the six principles at a meeting in Cairo on 5 July and that they “should be easy for the Qataris to accept”.

The demands set in June include that Doha:

• Shuts down state-owned satellite broadcaster Al-Jazeera;
• Cuts diplomatic ties with Iran including closing down diplomatic posts in Iran, expelling any members of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard, and only conducting trade and commerce with Iran that complies with US sanctions;
• Immediately closes Turkey’s military base in Qatar and halts military cooperation with Turkey in Qatar;
• Ends support for terrorists;
• Hands over all individuals wanted by the four blockading countries for terrorism;
• Stops funding any extremist entities that are designated as terrorist groups by the US;
• Provide detailed information about opposition figures that Qatar has funded in other countries;
• Refuses to naturalise citizens from the four countries and expel those currently in Qatar, in order to keep Qatar from meddling in their internal affairs.