In a surprise move against a key U.S. ally, Trump suggested Qatar - home to the largest American airbase in the Middle East - was funding extremism as he tacitly backed the diplomatic blockade of the emirate.
"So good to see the Saudi Arabia visit with the King and 50 countries already paying off", Trump said in a series of tweets.
During the phone call, Trump underscored that a united Gulf Cooperation Council is critical to defeating terrorism and promoting regional stability, the White House said. Qatar denies the allegations. "It's important that the Gulf be united for peace and security in the region", the senior official told Reuters.
Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain severed diplomatic relations with Qatar in a coordinated move on Monday.
Vladimir Putin on Tuesday spoke by telephone with the ruler of Qatar, urging dialogue to heal split between the Gulf state and other Arab countries.
USA investigators believe Russian hackers breached Qatar's state news agency and planted a fake news report that contributed to a crisis among the US' closest Gulf allies, according to U.S. officials briefed on the investigation.
Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Yemen, Bahrain, and the Maldives have all made a decision to freeze out the wealthy country, causing a potential crisis for Qatar.
Qatar has for years parlayed its enormous gas wealth and media strength into broad influence in the region.
The UAE had always been angered by Qatar's support for Islamists in the Gulf and in Libya, and Saudi Arabia and Egypt view the Muslim Brotherhood as a threat.
He added: "I hope that this is a signal also to Qatar that the period of duplicity, of doing something publicly and doing something else privately, are over".
Tribalism Hits a High as Northern Groups Give Ultimatum
They also assured Igbos in the north of their security despite a three- month ultimatum given to them to leave the region. That led to a revenge coup six months later and the massacre of tens of thousands of Igbos across northern Nigeria.
Foreigners residing in Qatar in possession of a Qatari residence visa would also not be eligible for visas on arrival in the UAE, an Etihad spokesman said in an email.
The CNN report said it was not clear whether the hackers suspected in the Qatar incident were linked to Russian organizations such as the GRU military intelligence agency, which has been accused of being behind cyberattacks aimed at influencing the USA presidential election previous year.
Qatar is not alone among GCC members to have been criticized over financing of terror and extremist ideology. It emboldened Saudi King Salman to "discipline" his unruly neighbour.
Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani "received a call from the emir of Kuwait asking him to postpone it in order to give time to solve the crisis", Sheikh Mohammed said.
Because defeating terrorism - a suicide bomber trying to get into a stadium, a auto of knife-brandishing militants plowing into pedestrians on a bridge, a man with an assault rifle spraying gunfire into a packed nightclub - requires that countries put up a united front, share intelligence, destroy militant hubs and financial conduits, and coordinate security strategy.
A Qatari official said the rift was pushing Doha in the direction of leaving the six-state Gulf Cooperation Council, "with deep regret". On Tuesday, he endorsed Saudi-led actions against Qatar in a tweet that amounted to self-praise for his speech in Saudi Arabia on May 21, which embraced a pro-Saudi view of the Middle East. Riyadh could be using this opportunity to curb dissent within the Sunni flock and get them to line up behind it.
Qatar is a peninsula, a little smaller than CT, located near Bahrain and the UAE but bordering only Saudi Arabia. Qatar's stock market slid to its lowest close since January 2016 and the Qatari riyal came under pressure. A spokeswoman for the Qatari embassy in Washington said the investigation is ongoing and its results would be released publicly soon.
However, the perception of the Muslim Brotherhood as a terrorist group is highly subjective.
Energy-rich Qatar has long had strained ties with its neighbors, but the move by Saudi Arabia and its supporters raised fears of more volatility in the region.



Comments