Arab states issue Qatar 'terror list'

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"We call on the kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Bahrain and Egypt to ease the blockade against Qatar", Secretary Tillerson said in a brief statement to reporters on Friday. Qatar has denied its neighbors' allegations and pledged to make sure the rift won't hurt its economy.

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson called on Arab nations on Friday to immediately ease their blockade on Qatar, warning that the Persian Gulf crisis is hindering USA efforts to fight the Islamic State group and other extremists in the Middle East. State-backed Qatar Airways, for example, has lost more than 50 flights a day from the blockade.

The Abu Dhabi Petroleum Ports Authority also reimposed a ban on oil tankers linked to Qatar calling at ports in the UAE, reversing an earlier decision to ease restrictions and potentially creating a logjam of crude cargoes.

Newspapers and television channels in the region have also been engaged in a war of words over Qatar's role.

The Qatari Interior Ministry said late Wednesday that the website of the Qatar News Agency was initially hacked in April with "high techniques and innovative methods".

Tillerson said the USA would help support efforts to mediate the crisis, along with Kuwait - another Gulf country that has stepped up to try to broker a resolution.

Qatar's Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani on Friday described the blockade as a violation of worldwide law and sad there was an attempt to mobilise global opinion against Qatar.

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Qatar hosts the largest USA military base in the entire Middle East, housing 11,000 American troops.

On Monday, a group of nations led by Saudi Arabia cut diplomatic and trade ties with Qatar, accusing it of sponsoring terrorism, being too close to Iran and interfering with domestic policies of other nations.

Several Arab countries cut diplomatic ties with Qatar this week in a dispute over regional security.

These designations have specifically financed, aided and/or provided material support to Al-Qaeda and its associated organisations and networks, added the report by WAM, the Emirates official news agency.

"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.

Only an hour later, Tillerson sat in the front row in the Rose Garden as Trump enthusiastically embraced the move by Saudi Arabia, Egypt and others to punish Qatar.

He demanded that Qatar, as well as the other nations, take steps to curtail support for terrorism. We support the emir of Kuwait's efforts to bring about a peaceful resolution to this agreement, and progress toward eliminating all forms of support for terrorism - military, financial, moral or ideological. The U.A.E. will prosecute and punish with fines and jail time people expressing sympathy for Qatar on social media, Al Arabiya reported.

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