With Qataris streaming into Saudi Arabia following the border re-opening, business owners in the al-Ahsa area say they are hopeful to see the economy boom again after "suffering economically" from the feud between Riyadh and Doha. Saudi Arabia shut its side of Qatar's only land border in June 2017 as part of a package of sanctions it said was a response to Doha's backing of radical Islamist groups and closeness to Iran. Qatar has always denied the charges.