Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani
Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani (; born 3 June 1980) is the Emir of Qatar. He is the fourth son of the previous Emir, Hamad bin Khalifa. He has been the ruler of Qatar since 2013 when his father abdicated the throne. Tamim had been the heir apparent since 2003 when his older brother Sheikh Jassim renounced his claim to the throne. He is the monarch of Qatar, which is an absolute monarchy. The citizens of Qatar have limited political and civil rights, and political parties are forbidden. He has been involved in efforts to  raise Qatar's international profile through hosting sports events, as well as buying Paris Saint-Germain F.C. Early life and education. Tamim bin Hamad was born on 3 June 1980 in Doha, Qatar. He is the fourth son of Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, and second son of Sheikha Moza bint Nasser, Hamad's second wife. Tamim was educated at Great Britain's Sherborne School (International College) in Dorset, and at Harrow School, where he sat his A-Levels in 1997. He then attended the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, graduating in 1998. Career. Sheikh Tamim was commissioned as a  second lieutenant in the Qatar Armed Forces upon graduation from Sandhurst. He became the heir apparent to the Qatar throne on 5 August 2003, when his elder brother Sheikh Jassim renounced his claim to the title. Since then he was groomed to take over rule, working in top security and economics posts. On 5 August 2003, he was appointed deputy commander-in-chief of Qatar's armed forces. Sheikh Tamim promoted sport as part of Qatar's bid to raise its international profile. In 2005 he founded Oryx Qatar Sports Investments, which owns Paris Saint-Germain F.C. among other investments . In 2006, he chaired the organizing committee of the 15th Asian Games in Doha. Under his leadership, all member countries attended the event for the first time in its history. That year Egypt's "Al Ahram" voted Tamim "the best sport personality in the Arab world". Under his guidance, Qatar won the rights to host the 2014 FINA Swimming World Championships and the 2022 FIFA World Cup. Tamim is chairman of the National Olympic Committee. At the 113th session of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in February 2002, he was elected as a member of the IOC. He headed Doha 's bid for the 2020 Olympics. The country will host the football World Cup in 2022. Qatar is expected to spend about $200 billion on infrastructure to prepare for the event. The Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) Evaluation Committee completed its tour to Doha in November 2020, and confirmed that the city will have much to offer for the Asian Games, and that they were satisfied with the prioritizing and support from Tamim. At the 39th General Assembly of the OCA, President Ahmed Al-Fahad Al-Ahmed Al-Sabah announced that Doha would host the 2030 Asian Games. Sheikh  Tamim heads the Qatar Investment Authority board of directors. Under his leadership, the fund has invested billions in British businesses. It owns large stakes in Barclays Bank, Sainsbury's, and Harrods. The fund also owns a share of Europe's fourth tallest building, the Shard. Tamim has also held a number of other posts, including: Reign. On 25 June 2013, Tamim's father, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, revealed his own plan to step down as Emir of Qatar in a meeting with his close relatives and aides. Tamim then became the Emir of Qatar after his father handed  over power in a televised speech. He was the first ruler, in a succession of three Qatari rulers from the Al Thani family, to ascend to power without resorting to a coup. According to "The Economist", of his previous sibling rivals to the throne, "One played too much, the other prayed too much." The transition of power went smoothly, as family members hold many of the nation's top posts. According to a diplomatic source close to the Al Thani family, Sheikh Tamim has "a strong personality" that allowed him to "establish himself within the ruling family". He became crown  prince on 5 August 2003, after his brother Sheikh Jassim had stepped down. Diplomats quoted by the BBC argued that Jassim, who served as crown prince for eight years, had hoped to expand his political powers. In 2003, Sheikh Jassim stepped down from the position of crown prince. According to Qatar News Agency Jassim sent a letter to his father saying, “The time is appropriate to step down and prepare for a successor”. In the letter, Jassim stated, “I did not want, as I have told you from the start, to be appointed as crown prince”, and noted he had  only accepted the position in October 1996 because of "sensitive circumstances". According to a report by Stratfor, Jassim had no allies among the military forces or secret police at the time of the 2013 political transition, and thereby few chances to overturn Hamad's decree. Domestic policy. Tamim rules an authoritarian regime in Qatar, as he holds all executive and legislative authority, political parties are forbidden, and elections are not free and fair. The citizens of Qatar have limited political and civil rights. There is no freedom of the press in Qatar. In 2016, Tamim's regime blocked Doha News  after it had done critical reporting. In striking contrast with his father's rule, who had prioritized Qatar's international profile, a new focus on domestic affairs has characterized Tamim's government so far. One of Tamim's first moves after coming to power was to streamline the bureaucracy by disassembling a number of parallel institutions, such as the Qatar National Food Security Program, which was incorporated into the Ministries of Economy and Agriculture. He also decreased the fiscal budget of several institutions, including Qatar Foundation and Qatar Museums Authority. Since his accession to power, the government has expanded the  roads around the capital, developed a new metro system, and completed the construction of a new airport. A new reform of the Qatari administration was launched towards increased efficiency and discipline. Moreover, the post of foreign minister has passed to a non-royal (Khalid al-Attiya). This is a significant change in the direction of meritocracy, given that during the previous administrations the prime minister, traditionally a royal, tended to double as foreign minister. Tamim also took credit for some initiatives directed at countering local sensitivities arising from the Arab Spring upheaval. He announced that the government would establish a  directive to lower the price of foodstuffs sold by companies working with the country's National Food Security Programme and anticipated social allowances and pension increases. According to his inaugural speech to the nation held on 26 June 2013, Sheikh Tamim will continue to diversify the country's economy away from hydrocarbons. In 2014, Tamim passed new cybercrime legislation, which was said to be part of an agreement among Gulf states to criminalize online insults of the region's royal families; The cybercrime law outlawed the spreading of "false news" as well as digital material that violates the country's  social values or "general order". The legislation made it illegal to incite, aid and facilitate the publication of offensive material. The law was criticized as being intended by the authoritarian regime to silence dissent in Qatar. Amnesty International called the law "a major setback for freedom of expression in Qatar", while other critics suggest that the new law will violate provisions of the country's constitution that protect civil liberties. In June 2013, Sheikh Tamim unveiled his new cabinet. Khalid bin Mohammad Al Attiyah was named foreign minister. Tamim made Hessa Al Jaber the first ever Minister of Information and  Communications Technology in Qatar in 2013. She was the third female minister to be named to the cabinet. In January 2016, Tamim made additional changes to his cabinet. He named a new foreign minister, Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani, moving the previous foreign minister, Khalid bin Mohammad Al Attiyah to the position of Minister of State for Defense Affairs. Tamim also merged several ministries, including communication and transport, culture, youth and sports. Journalists have speculated reasons behind the cabinet changes. Some have come to the conclusion that the reorganization was either an economic move, meant to save the  country money at a time where the falling price of gas has forced the country to scale back its workforce or for reasons of political stability. Eurasia Group indicated in a report that the cabinet change aimed to increase efficiency in government operations and would not negatively impact political or economic stability. According to others the appointments showed that Tamim was trying to make the government his own by bringing in a new, younger generation of ministers that were more loyal to him than to his father. In August 2021, Tamim issued a decree to hold the first-ever legislative  elections to the Consultative Assembly of Qatar which were held on 2 October 2021. Following a vote controversy at the elections, Tamim pledged equal citizenship and ordered legal amendments. Foreign policy. The young Emir's transition to power was welcomed by leaders across the world, who expected Tamim to continue the good work in the footsteps of his father and increase Qatar's role in vital international affairs, including the Syrian crisis and Darfur agreement. Analysts said he would be tasked with overseeing substantial upgrades to the national infrastructure, which have recently gotten underway. While some view Tamim as more  religious than his father, most analysts expect him to retain his father's largely pragmatic habits of governing – using Islam to further objectives where useful, but not pushing strictly Islamic agenda items such as outlawing alcohol. Under his leadership, Qatar has condemned hate speech based on religion, belief and race. In his inaugural speech to the nation, Tamim vowed that he would continue to pursue a central role for Qatar in the region but that he will not "take direction" in foreign affairs. He confirmed that he will commit to the highest possible level of integration with his Gulf neighbors . In fact, during his first months in charge he has prioritized the Gulf. In late October 2013, only a few months after taking charge, Sheikh Tamim took a regional tour of the Gulf. Even before his accession to power, he formally represented his father at the annual Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Summit in Bahrain in December 2012 as well as in welcoming delegates to the Arab League Summit in Doha in March 2013. Working in a government security post, he promoted stronger ties with Saudi Arabia, a neighbour and often contentious rival to Qatar. Tamim considers Qatar's rivalry with  Saudi Arabia unproductive, as has been the case in the so far unsuccessful attempt to build a cohesive Syrian opposition. Despite this, Tamim worked within the GCC to support the Syrian opposition. India. Sheikh Tamim has maintained a strong relationship with the Indian government. On 25 March 2015, he visited India and met Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He said that the government "trusts" the Indian economy so they would invest in India. Last time Sheikh Tamim met with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi was on 23 September 2019, at the residence of the Permanent Mission of the State of Qatar  to the United Nations, on the sidelines of the 74th session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York. Talks during the meeting dealt with the bilateral relations and ways of developing them in various aspects of cooperation, especially in the political and economic areas, to serve the interests of the two friendly people. During the COVID-19 crisis, on 26 May 2020, Sheikh Tamim spoke on the phone with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He said he appreciated the contributions made by the Indian community living in Qatar. In particular, he praised those working in the healthcare sector for their  huge contribution during the present situation. In turn, Prime Minister Narendra Modi warmly appreciated the personal care taken by the Emir for ensuring the welfare of the Indian citizens in Qatar during the COVID-19 pandemic. On 27 April 2021, Sheikh Tamim held a telephone conversation with Indian Prime Minister Modi and discussed ways to fight the novel COVID-19 pandemic. Sheikh Tamim immediately ordered to send urgent medical assistance to India. Egypt. Qatar heavily invested in loans and aid to Egypt during the Muslim Brotherhood’s government. In August 2013, Qatar joined a U.S.-led attempt to mediate the escalating tension between  the Muslim Brotherhood and the military. Speaking at Georgetown University during his first visit to the United States, Tamim reiterated that Qatar will not interfere in Egypt although he condemned what happened in Egypt after the 2013 coup. Since Mohamed Morsi’s removal from office, the new government has turned down Qatari offers for financial aid. Qatar's continued support for the Muslim Brotherhood resulted in a diplomatic rift between Doha and Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates in 2014, culminating in the withdrawal of the latter three countries' ambassadors in March of that year. Qatar has continuously  denied allegations of support for the Muslim Brotherhood, with the Foreign Minister stating in 2017: "In Egypt, when the Muslim Brotherhood assumed power, some linked this to Qatar's support, even though nearly 70 percent of the assistance program provided by Qatar was during the era of Essam Sharaf, during the period of the military council". In June 2016, former president of Egypt Mohamed Morsi was given a life sentence for accusations of passing state secrets to Qatar. On 20 January 2021, Qatar and Egypt agreed to resume diplomatic relations. In March 2021, during a visit to Cairo, Qatari foreign  minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani handed over Sheikh Tamim's invitation for Egypt's President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi. Sheikh Tamim named the Qatari ambassador to Egypt in July 2021 and met with el-Sisi in Baghdad on 28 August 2021. Syria. Qatar called for a military intervention by Arab countries to end the bloodshed in Syria in 2012. Analysts expected that he would have been under immediate pressure to reduce Qatar's support for the rebels in the Syrian Civil War, which Tamim had previously supported. In fact, Sheikh Tamim took a step back after taking  charge, primarily in response to the irritation voiced by Western powers at Qatar's operation to arm Syrian rebel groups which had been directed haphazardly. However, Qatar has continued to provide support to Syrian opposition groups, with Tamim declaring in a speech to the UN in September 2020 that Qatar would continue to support efforts to achieve justice and hold accountable perpetrators of atrocities, war crimes, and crimes against humanity in Syria. Recently, under the aegis of a joint initiative with Saudi Arabia and Turkey promoted by Sheikh Tamim, Qatar has provided Syrian rebels with new weapons and forged a  new opposition coalition in Syria known as “Army of Conquest." The Sheikh has also renewed his country's support for the Syrian people's demands for justice and freedom during a meeting with the chief of the Syrian National Coalition Khaled Khoja and his delegation in April 2015. Syrian rebel group Al-Rahman Legion is supported by Qatar. Since 2017, Qatari-backed Al-Rahman Legion has been fighting Saudi Arabian-backed Jaysh al-Islam rebel coalition. Turkey. Tamim signed a military cooperation agreement with Turkey during an official visit to the country in December 2014. The agreement aims to promote  cooperation in military training and the defense industry, and allows for the deployment of the Turkish Armed Forces to Qatar and the Qatari military to Turkey. On 2 December 2015, Tamim signed a number of agreements with president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. Cooperative agreements in education, maritime transport and correspondence pacts between intelligence agencies were signed. An agreement was also reached by Turkey to purchase liquefied natural gas from Qatar over a lengthy duration. The two leaders also announced the planned creation of a Turkish military base in Qatar; a first for Turkey in the Persian Gulf. In August 2018, Qatar  pledged $15 billion investment in Turkey, during currency crisis amid a diplomatic standoff with US. The investment package was announced after Qatar's Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani met President Erdoğan in Ankara, on 15 August 2018. On 6 December 2021, Sheikh Tamim received President Erdogan for a state visit in Doha. During the two-day visit, they signed 15 agreements regarding culture, economy, defense and security. In addition, several Memoranda of Understanding were signed between the countries' ministries. Sheikh Tamim and President Erdogan also agreed to extend the $15 billion currency swap agreement between Qatar and  Turkey. United Kingdom. In October 2014, Sheikh Tamim met UK Prime Minister David Cameron and Queen Elizabeth II on his first official visit to the UK. Qatar and the UK anticipated a Qatari-British Economic Forum to explore mutual investment opportunities. Up to and during this meeting "The Telegraph" newspaper launched a campaign to urge Cameron to discuss Qatar's funding of Islamic extremists with Tamim. Stephen Barclay, the Conservative MP, repeatedly called for transparency in Britain's dealings with Qatar and said it was "essential" for Mr Cameron to raise the issue of terror finance. "I welcome the fact  that the Prime Minister is meeting with the Emir," he said. "As part of these discussions it is essential that the issue of financing Sunni tribes in Syria and Iraq is raised.” In July 2018, Sheikh Tamim and UK Prime Minister Theresa May signed a letter of intent between the governments of Qatar and the United Kingdom. Both agreed to exchange information and intelligence on terrorism, to cooperate in the areas of law enforcement related to terror activities and security of the transport sector, including airports and aviation, and to fight financial crime. Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar houses  the Royal Air Force's operational headquarters in the Middle East. It is host to the RAF's No. 83 Expeditionary Air Group. The group provides command and control to the four Expeditionary Air Wings which support Operation Kipion and Operation Shader. The UK government has turned to Qatar to seek a long-term gas deal to ensure a stable supply of liquefied natural gas (LNG) to the UK. Prime Minister Johnson asked Tamim for help during a meeting at the UN General Assembly in September 2021. France. Tamim met French president François Hollande twice in 2014 and 2015. In  the latter meeting, they signed an agreement for the sale of Rafale jets to Qatar. Tamim met French president Emmanuel Macron twice in 2017. In the latter meeting, they signed commercial contracts worth more than US$14 billion. During their 2018 meeting, Tamim thanked Macron for his support for Qatar in the Gulf crisis. They met again in 2021. United States. In July 2014, Tamim renewed the defence agreement with the U.S. and confirmed Qatar's cooperation with the U.S. in the Combined Air Operations Center (CAOC) at Al Udeid Air Base. After visiting U.S. President Barack Obama at the  White House in February 2015, Tamin wrote an editorial saying the U.S.-Qatari “strategic partnership has deepened in recent years, in spite of the regional unrest” and reiterated his commitment to support a more comprehensive approach to the strategic challenges facing the Middle East. Sheikh Tamim has been a personal friend of U.S. President Donald Trump prior to the latter's presidency. He visited the United States several times during Trump's presidency and has held bilateral meetings at the White House in Washington, D.C. In July 2017, the US and Qatar signed a memorandum of understanding to combat the financing  of terrorism, making Qatar the first country in the region to sign the executive program with the United States to fight terrorism financing. In July 2019, Sheikh Tamim visited the US to meet President Donald Trump and discuss the latest regional and international developments. A state dinner to welcome Tamim was organized at the White House with “who’s who of people in business”, including Robert Kraft and Christine Lagarde The meeting concluded with an enhanced economic partnership between both the countries, with Qatar agreeing to do business with major US companies, including Boeing, Gulfstream, Raytheon and Chevron Phillips Chemical . On 20 August 2021, Sheikh Tamim held a telephone conversation with U.S. President Joe Biden. Biden thanked Tamim for Qatar's support regarding the US evacuations from Afghanistan. According to Biden, the airlifts "would not have been possible without the early support from Qatar". Sheikh Tamim visited U.S. President Joe Biden at the White House on a visit to Washington, D.C. on 31 January 2022. Personal characteristics and views. Sheikh Tamim is described as friendly, confident, and open by those who know him. He is also described as savvy, careful, and conservative. In addition, he is considered to be a  pragmatist, and to have "excellent relations" with the West, including the United States and France. Political analysts expected Tamim to be more conservative and risk-averse than his father. Because Tamim is very close to the Muslim Brotherhood, preserving a national identity grounded in Islamic traditional values has been Tamim's first priority. Personal life. In total he has thirteen children; seven sons and six daughters, from three wives. Tamim participates in competitive sport. He was filmed playing badminton and bowled with former Egyptian military chief Mohammed Hussein Tantawi. He has a strong interest in history and his nation's  heritage. He is fluent in English and French. Controversies. Alleged support for Islamists. Some countries and regional analysts have claimed that Qatar has supported a spectrum of Islamist groups around the region. Especially since the beginning of the Arab Spring upheaval in 2011, the country has provided diplomatic and medical initiatives, and warnings to Islamist groups. There have also been claims that the Qatar-based pan-Arab satellite television channel Al Jazeera promoted the narratives of the Islamist parties and causes supported by Qatar, thereby contributing to the electoral success of some of these movements during national polls. However, Al  Jazeera maintains that it was under pressure because “it is the most transparent, balanced and unbiased of all Arab channels". The channel previously hosted a talk-show, “al-Sharīʿa wa al-Ḥayāh” ("Shariah and Life"), featuring the controversial Brotherhood-associated Egyptian cleric Yusuf al-Qaradawi. There have also been claims that Qatar supports the Muslim Brotherhood. Qatar allegedly provided a financial boost to Morsi's Freedom and Justice Party, and Brotherhood opponents allegedly argued that Morsi's narrow election victory was achieved through Qatari funding. After Morsi's election, Qatar contributed a total of US$5.5 billion to the Muslim  Brotherhood administration. Qatar has repeatedly denied that it supports the Muslim Brotherhood, saying it supports “the legitimate peoples and governments elected whatever the ideology of the ruling group as long as it works on the prosperity and welfare of its people.” Tamim himself has also repeatedly denied that Qatar supports extremists. There have been rumors that Qatar looked at the Brotherhood in Syria as a natural Islamist ally to deliver its policy aims in the region. "The Financial Times" claimed in a report that Qatar provided Syrian rebels financial support of US$1 billion, saying that “people close to the  Qatar government” claimed that the real amount is close to 3 billion dollars. Furthermore, there have been rumors that Qatar is using its funding to develop networks of loyalty among rebels and allegedly to set the stage for Qatar's influence in the post-Assad era, although these rumors are unconfirmed. Analysts claim that both Qatar and Saudi Arabia are engaged in proxy wars in Syria and Libya. Tamim in particular played a role in the mediation with Taliban leaders, with whom he initiated contacts under his father's government. The United States requested the establishment of a Taliban office  in Doha. In June 2013, the Taliban opened their first official overseas office in the Qatari capital as part of the long-standing attempt to broker a long-term Afghan peace agreement. In June 2015, Qatar successfully mediated efforts to free four Tajikistan soldiers kidnapped in December 2014 in Afghanistan by a Taliban group. Qatar hosted the historic signing of a peace deal between the US and the Taliban in February 2020 which called for the full withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan. Beginning in September 2020, Qatar has hosted the peace talks between the Afghan government and the Taliban  to end decades of war in the country. Qatar has also provided aid through loans and investments to the democratically elected Ennahdha Party in Tunisia, and to parties in Yemen and Morocco. The country's support for Islamist causes and for organizations that oppose the absolute rule of the Gulf's hereditary rulers provoked tensions with the GCC countries. In March 2014 Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and United Arab Emirates withdrew their ambassadors from Qatar. Officially, the decision was motivated by Qatar's alleged refusal to ratify the agreements of non-interference in domestic policy within the GCC in December 2013 . Some analysts observed that the diplomatic crisis was the peak of long-time degenerated relationships of Qatar with the Arab countries, who have rebuked Qatar for allegedly backing Islamists during Arab Spring revolts and are supportive of the new military-oriented Egyptian regime. Labour issues. According to the German regional public service television channel WDR, several of its reporters were detained for several days in Qatar for collecting evidence on the conditions of migrant workers. The Guardian has reported that Nepalese migrants building the infrastructure to host the 2022 World Cup died at a rate of one every two days  in 2014. Human Rights Watch's “2014 World Report” confirmed the precarious conditions of the migrant workers, who sometimes live in unsanitary conditions and are subject to arbitrary restrictions on the right to leave Qatar, exploitation and abuse by employers. In response, Qatar commissioned an investigation by the international law firm DLA Piper that resulted in laws that require contractors to provide improved living conditions and ban them from seizing passports. The Emir of Qatar reformed by law the kafala system the following year. During the 2016 May Day celebration in Bonn, Germany, an Amnesty campaigner named Bettina Hoffmann took  the opportunity to protest Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, who she claims is indifferent to the struggle of the foreign workers. She said that Amnesty is concerned about the tens of thousands of Asian workers who are working on football stadiums and infrastructure for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar. Amnesty estimates some 70,000 labourers - many from India, Pakistan and Bangladesh - are quasi slaves in the Gulf state, which is ruled by Qatar's Emir. Hoffmann says the foreign workers must give up their passports, receive late wages if they receive wages at all, and are voiceless. The worst  part, she says, is the response of the Emir who seems to be indifferent to the dangerous conditions of the workers. Two laws protecting workers' rights, which included clauses on maximum working hours and rights to annual leave, were passed by Sheikh Tamim in 2017. The next year, Sheikh Tamim passed Law No. 13 of 2018, abolishing exit visas for roughly 95% of the country's migrant workers. The remaining 5% of workers, which amount to approximately 174,000 people, still require their employer's permission to exit the country. While stating that more needs to be done to protect the  rights of Qatar's workers, at the same time Stephen Cockburn of Amnesty claimed that the Emir had taken an "important first step towards meeting the authorities' promise to fundamentally reform the exploitative sponsorship system". In November 2017, Qatar and the International Labour Organization started a technical cooperation programme to improve working conditions and labour rights. The ILO opened its first project office in Qatar on 30 April 2018 to support the implementation of the programme. Following the adoption on 30 August 2020 of Law No. 19 of 2020, migrant workers can now change jobs before the end of their  contract without first having to obtain a No Objection Certificate (NOC) from their employer. This new law, coupled with the removal of exit permit requirements earlier in the year, effectively dismantles the “kafala” sponsorship system and marks the beginning of a new era for the Qatari labour market. In March 2021, Qatar additionally implemented a monthly minimum wage of 1,000 riyals (USD 275) for all workers, making it the first country in the region to do so. Pandora Papers. In October 2021, Sheikh Tamim was named in the Pandora Papers leak. BBC reported that "The Qatar ruling family bought two  of the UK's most expensive houses in a deal that allowed them to avoid £18.5m in stamp duty, leaked documents show." Public image. A sketch of Tamim entitled "Tamim al-majd" ("Tamim the Glorious") by advertiser Ahmed al-Maadheed became extremely popular as a nationalistic symbol in Qatar following the beginning of the 2017 Qatar diplomatic crisis. Hacking. In January 2019, a Reuters investigation revealed that a team of former US government intelligence operatives working on behalf of the United Arab Emirates had hacked the iPhones of activists, diplomats and foreign leaders, including Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad  Al Thani. Beginning in 2016 the spying tool, codenamed ‘K4RM4’, enabled the UAE to monitor hundreds of individuals identified as potential critics of, or threats to, the Emirati government and its ideology. The hacking unit using the tool, known as ‘Project Raven’, was based in Abu Dhabi and composed of local security officials and former US intelligence operatives working for the UAE's intelligence services. Ex-Project Raven operatives described how Karma was able to remotely gain access to iPhones, including that of Sheikh Tamim's, by uploading numbers or email addresses into an automated targeting system. According to Reuters  the phones of Sheikh Tamim's brother as well as several associates were also hacked by the Project Raven team.