Jordan downgrades diplomatic relations with Qatar

Trump, who spoke of the need to confront terrorism during a recent trip to Saudi Arabia, proudly touted Qatar being cut off by the other nations on Twitter, taking personal credit despite Qatar's status as a close USA ally and home of the region's largest US military base.

Nauert praised Qatar for its role in fight against terrorism.

And in its bid to lobby the USA administration, the Saudis spent about $270,000 at Trump's hotel in Washington between October and the end of March, new foreign agent filings show.

U.S. Ambassador to Qatar Dana Shell Smith on Monday retweeted a previous comment from October 2016 about the "great partnership" with Qatar to "counter terrorist financing".

Moscow had not responded to the reports on Tuesday night.

Jordan announced on Tuesday that it was reducing its diplomatic ties with Qatar amid a deepening political crisis in the region.

Maersk, the world's biggest container shipping line, said it was unable to transport goods in or out of Qatar because it could not take them through the UAE port of Jebel Ali.

An Israeli military spokeswoman said dozens of Palestinians had gathered at the fence and were trying to damage it. Soldiers on the Israeli side of the border fired warning shots in the air after their calls to halt were ignored. He said "it's important for France to remain in partnership with all these countries", especially with diplomatic, financial and economic interests at stake.

Adel al-Jubeir spoke Wednesday after meeting his German counterpart in Berlin.

Al Qassemi, who previously wrote a column describing steps Qatar would need to take, said that the crisis will only escalate if Doha doesn't back down. Mauritania became the ninth country to sever ties with Qatar.

Saudi Arabia and others cut ties with Qatar this week, accusing it of supporting extremists.

In a series of early-morning tweets, Trump appeared to endorse the accusation that the small, gas-rich kingdom funds terrorist groups, a serious allegation against a strategic US partner that hosts a base with some 10,000 American troops.

Saudi Arabia and Bahrain have also revoked the licences of Qatar Airways and ordered its offices to close, while airspace across the region has been closed to flights from Doha.

The United Arab Emirates tightened the squeeze on fellow Gulf state Qatar on Wednesday threatening anyone publishing expressions of sympathy towards it with up to 15 years in prison, and barring Qatari passport or resident visa holders entry.

On Monday, Deputy White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said she was not "aware" whether the president received any word that the Gulf state nations were going to cut ties with Qatar during his recent visit to Saudi Arabia and referred further questions to the State Department.

Qatar has been one of the few foreign backers of internationally shunned Hamas, an Islamic militant group that has ruled the Gaza Strip since 2007. However, Qatar denies the accusations.

The Saudi-led action has prompted some analysts to openly speculate about the possibility of regime change in Qatar, the No. 1 exporter of liquefied natural gas, whose sovereign wealth fund owns stakes in global companies from Barclays Plc to Credit Suisse Group.

On top of a possible jail term, offenders would also be hit with a fine of at least 500,000 dirhams, the newspaper said, citing a statement to Arabic-language media. "That may sound odd, but that's where we are at in this new era of social media".

In a statement by the Foreign Ministry, the African country accused Qatar of having connections to terrorist organizations. Qatar has said it will not retaliate against the curbs. Qatar was also expelled from a Saudi-led coalition fighting in Yemen.

But efforts to defuse the worst crisis among Gulf Arabs for two decades showed no immediate progress. The countries also said they would eject Qatar's diplomats.