Alwaght-The Bahraini regime has stopped issuing new visas to Qataris, the interior ministry said late on Tuesday, amid a deepening row between the Persian Gulf states.
The tiny island sheikhdom severed relations with Qatar in June last year at the same time as its benefactor Saudi Arabia and its allies Egypt and the United Arab Emirates.
But it had continued issuing some visas to citizens of Qatar, which lies just 40km away on the mainland of the Arabian Peninsula.
The ministry said only Qatari students studying in Bahrain would be exempt from the new measures, and visas already issued would remain valid.
The two sides have exchanged repeated allegations of violations of airspace or territorial waters and have launched multiple lawsuits through international tribunals.
Bahrain and its allies have demanded that Qatar cut its alleged ties to the Muslim Brotherhood and take a tougher line with neighboring Iran.
Qatar, which is to host the finals of the next football World Cup in 2022, has insisted it has the right to conduct an independent foreign policy.
The standoff between these Arab regimes which are all Western allies continues with no end in sight despite mediation efforts by various parties.
