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.
In his tweet, Trump voiced support for the regional blockade of Qatar and cited Qatar's funding of terrorist groups. Qatar also backs the Palestinian political and militant group Hamas and the worldwide Islamist movement the Muslim Brotherhood, which Saudi Arabia and Egypt oppose. The nations said that their decision was based on the claims that Qatar supported Islamist groups and associated with terrorism.
Federal Bureau of Investigation experts visited Qatar in late May to analyze an alleged cyberbreach through which the hackers placed the fake story with Qatar's state news agency, the USA broadcaster said.
CNN reports that US officials were briefed on an FBI investigation into the alleged hacking, which the Qatari government first reported about two weeks ago. Foreign Minister Anwar Gargash said that Qatar had benefited from a mixture of "money and media and partisanship and extremism".
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". After first appearing to back the Saudi-led measures against Qatar on Twitter, he shifted gears and called for unity among Gulf Arab states.
Amid diplomatic turmoil in the Middle East, President Donald Trump suggested Tuesday that his recent visit influenced several regional neighbors to isolate Qatar, home to an important United States military base, over terrorism.
Trump's Latest Move Sets Oil Prices Down
USA crude production has also continued to increase, rising to 9.34 million bbl/d, up almost 500,000 bbl/d from a year-ago. If that happened, the US could surpass Saudi Arabia as the world's No. 2 oil producer.
The BBC's Barbara Plett Usher in Washington said Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait have all funded extremists in Syria but pulled back under U.S. pressure, while Qatar, which likes to see itself as a neutral player and potential intermediary, has dealings that are arguably murkier than the others'.
"Whatever has been thrown as an accusation is all based on misinformation and we think that the entire crisis being based on misinformation", the foreign minister told CNN's Becky Anderson.
Qatar is on a peninsula, sharing one land border with Saudi Arabia - which is now closed - and otherwise surrounded by the Gulf.
Donald Trump said his visit to Saudi Arabia had already paid off. (Credit: SPA).
Saudi Arabia and the UAE used to be the biggest markets by the number of available seats for Qatar Airways.
According to Reuters, Qatar has for years presented itself as a mediator and power broker for the region's many disputes, but Egypt and the Gulf Arab states resent Qatar's support for Islamists, especially the Muslim Brotherhood, which they see as a political foe.
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