© AFPLast year in Riyadh, US President Donald Trump with many of the same Arab leaders who were on the yacht.
Nader proposed to the leaders gathered on the yacht that they should set up an elite regional group of six countries, which would supplant both the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and the moribund Arab League.
Nader said this group of states could become a force in the region "that the US government could depend on" to counter the influence of Turkey and Iran, according to two sources briefed on the meeting.
Nader brought together Mohammed bin Salman, who was then deputy crown prince of Saudi Arabia; Mohammed bin Zayed, crown prince of Abu Dhabi; Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, president of Egypt; Prince Salman, crown prince of Bahrain; and King Abdullah of Jordan onto the yacht.
Their respective states, plus Libya which was not represented at the secret summit, would form the nucleus of pro-US and pro-Israeli states.
Nader is reported to have told the leaders: "If you agree to this, I will lobby for this in Washington," two sources with knowledge of the meeting told MEE. Those who attended liked the idea.
© middleeasteye.net
Nader established this link through the help of the Iraqi Shia leader Ammar al-Hakim and his group. The IRGC is thought to have used Nader to pass messages to Middle East states, sources told MEE.
How Trump was key to plans
The secret summit on the Red Sea took place towards the end of King Salman's first year in power, when his son MBS was only deputy crown prince.
His chief obstacle to the Saudi throne lay in the form of his elder cousin Mohammed bin Nayef, who was crown prince and a favourite of Washington's security establishment. MBS would become crown prince in June 2017, only after his father deposed Bin Nayef.
© AFPIn 2016, Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz with then Crown Prince Mohammed bin Nayef and deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman
Significantly, these Arab leaders decided in late 2015 that a wildcard presidential candidate in the shape of Trump could be the key to their plans to become the new regional hegemons.
Months later, in January 2016, King Abdullah of Jordan briefed US Congressional leaders that Turkey presented the main threat to regional security.
As MEE reported, the king told US congressmen in a closed meeting that Turkey exported terrorists to Europe, comments he was to deny publicly later.
But Jordan then fell out dramatically with the group which had gathered on the yacht: Saudi Arabia decided that Amman did not go far enough in enforcing the blockade against Qatar, which was imposed in June last year.
The split between Saudi and Jordan widened further when Jordan voted against Trump's move to recognise Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, which threatens Jordan's role as custodian of the Holy Places in the city.
Nader the go-between
Nader has recently emerged as a key back channel between Bin Zayed and Trump. The New York Times has reported that Mueller is actively chasing financial links in order to establish whether the Emiratis illegally contributed funds to Trump's presidential campaign.
It reported that in recent weeks Mueller's investigators have questioned Nader and pressed witnesses about any possible attempts by the Emiratis to buy political influence by directing money to Trump's presidential campaign.
On Friday, reports emerged of a slew of convictions that Nader had on charges of sexually abusing underage boys and possessing child pornography. Newsweek reported that Nader had been sentenced to six months on child pornography charges in Virginia. According to federal court records seen by Newsweek, Nader was convicted of bringing child pornography into the US from Germany.
This was in addition to a conviction on 10 counts of sexually abusing underage boys in the Czech Republic for which he served one year in prison in 2003.
Despite this criminal history, Nader was actively used by Trump. He attended a meeting with Jared Kushner, Trump's son-in-law, and Steve Bannon, his chief political strategists at Trump Tower in New York in December 2016.
© AFPErik Prince testifies to Congress in Washington DC in 2007.
Nader has long-standing connections with Israel. During the presidential elections bin Zayed sent Nader to meet Israeli officials to discuss how the two states can co-operate, a source told MEE. Nader established ties with Israel through an American Jewish fundraiser, Elliott Broidy, who is close to the prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu.
According to the NYT, Broidy owns a private security company with hundreds of millions of dollars of contracts with the UAE.
Broidy was removed as chairman of the Tel Aviv-based Markstone Capital Partners after admitting paying nearly $1m in bribes to pension fund managers in New York State. Broidy became deputy chairman of Trump's fundraising campaign.
Citing a memorandum made by Broidy, and passed to the newspaper by "someone critical of the Emirati influence in Washington", the NYT reported that Broidy lobbied Trump to meet Bin Zayed "in an informal setting", to back the UAE's policies, and to push him to fire his secretary of state, Rex Tillerson.
In response to the leaking of his memorandum, Broidy accused "registered and unregistered agents of Qatar" for the hacking. Broidy made the accusation through his press spokesman and in a letter to the Qatari ambassador in Washington:
ELLIOTT BROIDYMEE approached Nader, the Saudi and the Emirati embassies in London for comment. No reply was forthcoming.
1801 Century Park East - Suite 2150
Los Angeles, CA 90067
March 3, 2018
VIA COURIER AND FEDERAL EXPRESS
Sheikh Meshal bin Hamad Al Thani
Ambassador to the United States from Qatar
Embassy of the State of Qatar
2555 M Street, NW
Washington, DC 20037
Dear Ambassador Al Thani:
I write to you to bring to your attention a matter of grave concern regarding violations of international law, U.S. law, and basic human decency.
A team of intelligence community and law enforcement personnel, experts, and attorneys have generated information regarding your government's hostile intelligence operations against United States citizens through registered and unregistered agents of your government operating in the United States, as well as through agents operating outside of the United States.
I and people working in my employ have discovered the identities of the U.S. citizen and foreign actors your government hired and directed in these operations. Some agents acting on your behalf were paid "under the table" in violation of several U.S. and state laws. Your agents' commission of espionage against U.S. citizens may have violated numerous federal and state statutes. The elaborate information we have generated about your operation will definitely alarm the American public and its leaders.
Your government's actions against U.S. citizens will certainly jeopardize your nation's relationship with the United States during a sensitive and costly political time for your nation. Your agents boldly moved funds through illicit channels, front entities, and employed unregistered sub-hires. The activities of your agents, their handlers, and your government will trigger numerous law enforcement authorities as well as defense and intelligence community obligations.
Voluminous information is in the process of being disclosed to the media (American and international), members of the House and Senate, Trump Administration officials, the Intelligence Community, the Department of Justice, the Department of the Treasury, the State Department, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and officials of foreign nations with whom we are allies. The American public will justifiably be alarmed by the information that is in the process of being revealed. This letter serves as notice of forthcoming actions in response to your government's hostile intelligence operations in the U.S. homeland, actions that will be taken in order to protect the property and privacy rights of American citizens.
Your government attempted to silence the voices of U.S. citizens who have called it to account for its support of terrorism. But, in doing so, your government's actions have in fact proven their point. I assure you that the U.S. government and the American public will not tolerate state-sponsored attacks on American citizens in the United States.
To that end, I have brought your actions not only to the attention of my attorneys, but also to the attention of the U.S. government, and I have requested that they take appropriate action.
Sincerely,
Elliott Broidy
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