05 June, 2017
Qatar's stock market suffered its largest fall in nearly a decade after Saudi Arabia led other Gulf states including United Arab Emirates and Egypt in cutting diplomatic ties, purportedly over protecting themselves from "terrorism and extremism".
The countries which include Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, and Saudi Arabia, cut ties "not because of Israel, not because of the Jews, not because of Zionism", but "rather from fears of terrorism".
Meanwhile, Qatar Airways said it was suspending all flights to Saudi Arabia.
All the nations also announced plans to cut air and sea traffic to the peninsular country.
Abu Dhabi-based airline Etihad said it was suspending flights to Qatar "until further notice".
Central Command officials and the Pentagon did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
It has been criticised for supporting rebel groups fighting Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, and Qatari individuals have been sanctioned by the US Treasury for terrorist-funding activities.
A statement released on Saudi Arabian state controlled news agency, SPA, accused Doha of backing militant groups and spreading violent ideology in a clear reference to Qatar's state-controlled cable news channel, Al Jazeera.
Qatar's national team is still involved in the qualifying competition for the 2018 World Cup in Russian Federation and are bottom of their group with four points from seven games, with matches against South Korea, Syria, and China still to play.
Qatar's local World Cup organising committee and the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) which organises global matches in the region, both declined to comment. Qatar hosts a key U.S. air base.
Qatar had participated in the coalition since March 2015.
Qatar is part of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) which is a regional political and economic union consisting of - apart from Qatar - Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates.
Saudi Arabian Airlines has also suspended all flights to Qatar, it said on its official Twitter account on Monday, without providing further details.
According to Reuters, Riyadh, through its state agency, alleged that Qatar was involved in supporting terrorist and sectarian groups aimed at destabilising the region, including the Muslim Brotherhood, Daesh, and Al Qaeda.
Saudi Arabia and its Gulf allies may have felt emboldened by Trump's visit, which saw the new president clearly align USA interests with Riyadh and lash out at Iran.
"One is that Saudi Arabia felt emboldened after Donald Trump's visit, and Trump's administration has had a strong stance on Iran, which is backed by Qatar".
