In stern rebuke of Mideast ally, U.S. raps Qatar on terror funds

I won't name other countries, but we are not done solving the problem.

While the UAE had previously blocked access to Qatar-based media network Al Jazeera, access to the Doha News website was also blocked on Thursday.

Trump said he helped plan the move against Qatar, although a senior administration official told Reuters earlier this week that the usa had no indication from the Saudis or Emiratis during the visit that they would sever ties with Qatar. It added that a Turkish delegation would be going to Qatar in the coming days to assess the situation at the base, where around 90 Turkish soldiers are now based.

They accused the tiny Gulf state of harboring extremist groups and suggested Qatari support for the agenda of Saudi Arabia's regional arch-rival Iran.

Tillerson said Friday that the emir has made progress in halting financial support and expelling terrorists, "but he must do more and he must do it quickly".

"We took this step with great pain so that it understands that these policies are not sustainable and must change", Saudi foreign minister, Adel al-Jubeir told reporters, according to The Guardian, which called the diplomatic crisis the "worst to hit the Gulf states in 30 years".

After Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and United Arab Emirates (UAE) closed their airspace, only one narrow route remains for Qatari carriers to transport passengers - via Iran.

Speaking in a joint press Conference with the German foreign minister, Sigmar Gabriel, on Wednesday, the Saudi Foreign Minister, Adel al-Jubeir, called Qatar a "brother state" and provided assurances that the crisis could be addressed within the region without outside interference.

The current situation in the Gulf is "troubling" to the USA, its allies in the region, and the people directly affected, Tillerson said.

The West African nations of Senegal and Mauritania have joined have severed their diplomatic relations with Qatar in expression of solidarity with the four Gulf countries that cut ties.

Qatar is a peninsula that shares its only land border with Saudi Arabia, and relies heavily on its regional neighbors for imported food and supplies.

Qatar has long denied supporting or funding terror groups.

French President Emmanuel Macron has also reached out to Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Iran in a bid to kick off negotiations. Only an hour later, Tillerson sat in the front row in the Rose Garden as Trump enthusiastically embraced the move by Saudi Arabia, Egypt and others to punish Qatar.