Trump Calls on Qatar to Cease Funding Terror

It added: "We lead the region in attacking the roots of terrorism".

Kuwait's central bank - which is not part of the group of countries that severed ties with Qatar - is said to have asked banks to disclose their exposure to Qatar.

The votes came just days after five Arab countries cut ties with the gas-rich Gulf nation.

The split among the Arab states erupted last month after Trump visited Saudi Arabia where he accused Iran of "destabilizing interventions" in Arab lands.

He says that funding has to end. Though the president said others, too, were guilty of supporting terrorism, he said he would not name them.

In a day of mixed messages and chaotic diplomacy, Tillerson emphasized the economic, humanitarian and military damage he said the blockade was inflicting.

On Friday, Tillerson said the blockade has caused shortages of food, the separation of families and other "unintended consequences".

Trump said he helped plan the move against Qatar, although a senior administration official told Reuters earlier this week that the U.S. had no indication from the Saudis or Emiratis during the visit that they would sever ties with Qatar.

Tillerson told reporters at the State Department that the crisis, which has cut transportation links and trade, had begun to hurt ordinary people in Qatar, impaired business dealings and harmed the U.S. battle against the Daesh (so-called IS) militant group. He added that it hurts USA business activities and the US effort to fight the terror group ISIS.

Still, the Pentagon has been developing contingency plans in case there's any interruption, defense officials said.

In a statement released on Wednesday, UAE's Attorney General Hamad Saif al-Shamsi said sympathising with Qatar was a cybercrime punishable by law.

U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said he expected all parties to find a resolution. The Qatari Embassy in Washington did not respond to a request for comment.

Saudi Arabia is among countries including the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Egypt and Bahrain that have blocked transport routes with Qatar, accusing the country of destabilizing the region by supporting proxies of Shiite Muslim Iran and the Sunni militants of al-Qaeda and the Islamic State group.

The media rights group, also known as RSF, said Al Jazeera was a "collateral victim of (the) diplomatic offensive against Qatar", criticising Riyadh's decision to close Al Jazeera's office and revoke its operating licence.

At the same time, Tillerson noted that the emir of Qatar has made progress in halting financial support and expelling terrorist elements from his country.

The spat has led to one of the worst Gulf crises in decades, with suspended flights and regional ports closed to Qatari ships.

Abu Dhabi-owned Etihad also said foreigners living in Qatar with residence permits would no longer be eligible for visas upon arrival in the UAE. The kingdom called the allegations "baseless".

Those tweets raised questions about how isolation would affect the US military base in Qatar, as well as how the diplomatic stress will affect American priorities and goals in the region.