Mauritania cuts ties to Qatar amid Gulf rift

More moves against Qatar, including further curbs on business, remain on the table in a row with Arab neighbours, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) said on Wednesday, June 7.

Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) are toying with the lives of thousands of Persian Gulf residents in a dispute with Qatar, splitting up families and destroying peoples' livelihoods and education, the release reads.

He added that "we have taken these steps in the interest of Qatar. and in the interest of security and stability in the region". So we had a decision to make.

Addressing a White House news conference, the president said Qatar had "historically been a funder of terrorism at a very high level".

"We are convinced that now is the hour of diplomacy and we must talk to each other; along with our American colleagues but above all our colleagues in the region, we must try to find solutions, especially lifting the sea and air blockades", he told reporters afterwards.

Following the closure of borders with Qatar, Qatari citizens were stocking up on food and supplies in fear of shortage.

A day later, Trump took credit on Twitter for the rupture, pointing to Doha's support for extremists. The FBI has confirmed the hack may have resulted in fake-news sharing and that Russian Federation is a suspect. But Tillerson hinted at a wrinkle in the storyline: the breakdown in diplomatic relations is impairing US mediation in the Middle East because Qatar hosts a USA air base with 10,000 troops. Also on Monday, Tillerson said he did not "expect that this will have any significant impact, if any impact at all, on the unified fight against terrorism in the region or globally".

Taking what appeared to be a different position to Trump's hard line, U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson made clear on Friday he expected all parties to end the crisis. The Qatari Embassy in Washington did not respond to a request for comment.

After Trump waved the starting flag, there was an immediate effect on the ground.

Tillerson, too, faulted Qatar for allowing funds to flow to extremist groups, but in terms that were much less severe.

Sheikh Sabah aims resolving a diplomatic crisis between Qatar and other Arab nations.

Tillerson said that a resolution was possible through "calm and thoughtful dialogue" and noted the US' support for the neutral Kuwait to mediate in the crisis. "Leaders pointed to Qatar - look!" "We have not asked for mediation, we believe this issue can be dealt with among the states of the Gulf Cooperation Council", the country's foreign minister said on Saudi state television. "Perhaps this will be the beginning of the end to the horror of terrorism!" he wrote on the social media site. Qatar's neighbors have also criticized Qatar for allegedly supporting groups like the Muslim Brotherhood and Hamas.

The countries involved in the dispute accuse Qatar of giving financial support to ISIS; Qatar has also accused Saudi Arabia of backing the militant group.