On June 5th, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt, cut ties with Qatar, saying Doha supports terrorism while cultivating ties with Iran, the Gulf States' rival in the region.
Saudi Arabia has said all camels and sheep owned by Qataris must leave its pastureland, in a growing row between Qatar and other Gulf states.
The level of exposure for businesses from Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain has been negatively impacted alongside that of Qatari businesses in the current crisis. "Or were they about the long-simmering grievances between and among the (P) GCC [Persian Gulf Cooperation Council] countries?"
This is largely in keeping with what you'd figure would be the USA position on Qatar, a long-time ally, but runs contrary to President Trump, who personally took credit for the Saudi-led move and has repeatedly parroted Saudi allegations against the Qatari government since then.
A US official said Washington is urging Qatar to take steps to defuse the crisis, including signing on to proposals being drawn up the Treasury Department to strengthen controls against financing of militant groups.
Sanctions were also imposed on food and other imports into the country, Al Jazeera reported.
Iran fires rockets in 'revenge' at Islamic State in Syria
Like Obama, Trump has focused on Islamic State, leaving for later the question of Assad's fate and the region's mangled alliances. It has also sent thousands of Shiite recruits to fight in Syria and battle IS in neighbouring Iraq, according to officials.
Qatar has held military exercises with Turkish troops, demonstrating one of its strong alliances after two weeks of economic isolation imposed by some of its neighbours, Reuters said.
The government has asked Air India and Jet Airways to operate additional temporary flights to Doha to meet the massive demand ahead of Eid, due to a ban on Qatar carriers by some middle-eastern nations.
But the Pentagon and State Department have since thanked Doha for hosting the largest U.S. air base in the region and its help in fighting ISIS. "We are starting to see risky spillovers already both in the broader region but also in Africa and in Asia, there are worrying signals", she said in Luxembourg.
USA officials denied the statement marked a shift in their position, but it does mark a break with Trump's previous statements on the crisis, in which he appeared to take Saudi Arabia's side over Qatar's.
Nauert said Tillerson had spent the two weeks since the embargo talking to the protagonists and regional leaders in person and on the phone, but no longer saw any point in continuing mediation. "Let's get this going", Nauert said. Along with Turkey, Iran can fill this void left by the crisis.
"We are encouraging all sides to de-escalate tensions and engage in constructive dialogue". Bahrain and Yemen abruptly cut diplomatic relations with Qatar, accusing Doha of supporting terrorism without presenting any evidence to support their claims.
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