Arab states blacklist dozens of 'Qatari terrorism links', Doha calls move 'baseless'

On Thursday, Qatar's Sheikh Mohammed said his country had been isolated "because we are successful and progressive" and called his country "a platform for peace not terrorism".

The new stance suggests a desire by the administration to support Saudi Arabia and other Gulf nations that cut diplomatic ties with Qatar earlier this week - essentially picking sides in a regional row in the heart of the Sunni Muslim world. "This dispute is threatening the stability of the entire region", he said.

On Friday, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson sought to defuse the diplomatic fallout of Qatar's deliberate isolation. He cited the potential danger to U.S. military operations at the al-Udeid air base, the centerpiece of U.S. Central Command operations in the region, and urged Qatar to find common ground with its neighbors.

But he also warned that the response - Bahrain, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates cut diplomatic ties on Monday and are trying to blockade Qatar by air and sea - could be counterproductive.

That was news to the Pentagon, which just minutes before said that the days-long blockade of Qatar had yet to interfere with USA operations at al-Udeid, from which are launched many sorties of the U.S-led coalition against the Islamic State.

Other English news websites like Gulf Times and Qatar Tribune were also not accessible in UAE. The sole Yemeni, Abdel-Wahab al-Humayqani, is the leader of a Salafi party whose has been accused by the US of financing al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula, the terror group's branch in Yemen. The US' "expectation is that these countries will immediately take steps to resolve the situation", he added. We are seeing shortages of food.

In an extraordinary broadside against a key USA partner, President Donald Trump lambasted Qatar on Friday for funding terrorism "at a very high level" and insisted that it stop.

"We believe these are unintended consequences, especially during this holy month of Ramadan".

Arab countries have put 12 organizations and 59 people they say are associated with energy rich Qatar on a terror sanctions list. Tillerson told reporters at the State Department shortly before Trump spoke that this blockade is hindering the US -led military campaign against ISIS, creating hardships for the people of Qatar and "impairing USA and other worldwide business activities in the region".

"The blockade is hindering United States military actions in the region and the campaign against ISIS", Tillerson said, using the U.S. government´s preferred acronym for the group. In its latest Country Reports on Terrorism, the U.S. State Department said Qatar in 2015 froze assets and imposed travel bans on Ka'bi and Kawari, both of whom are Qatari citizens.

"The recent joint statement issued by the kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Egypt and the UAE regarding a "terror finance watchlist" once again reinforces baseless allegations that hold no foundation in fact", the Qatari government said in a statement today.

The UAE's national postal group suspended services to Qatar and the UAE aviation authority said it had closed air space for traffic to and from Doha.