RIYADH: Severing ties with Qatar is Saudi Arabia’s sovereign right under international law and protects its security from terrorist threats, Saudi Press Agency (SPA) said on Saturday. Qatar has worked against Saudi Arabia secretly and publicly since 1995, and hosts and promotes terrorist groups such as Daesh, the Muslim Brotherhood and Al-Qaeda, the report stated. The report also said that the Kingdom and other Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries have continuously urged Doha to abide by the agreements it made in Riyadh in 2013 and 2014, and that it had failed to do so. Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Bahrain withdrew their ambassadors from Qatar in March 2014 over its support for the Muslim Brotherhood and other terrorist groups. The ambassadors returned in November 2014 after Qatari authorities singed another agreement. The Anti-Terror Quartet of Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt have operated a diplomatic, trade and travel boycott of Qatar since June 2017. Saudi Arabia reaffirmed its support for the security and stability of the Qatari people, and said that it had taken steps to help both Saudis and Qataris who have been affected by the decision to sever ties with Qatar. A committee has been formed by the Saudi Ministry of Interior to deal with humanitarian cases of Saudi-Qatari families affected by the crisis, and a hotline has been set up so that people can report such cases.