Trump offers US help to Qatar to resolve Gulf crisis

The United States also called on GCC countries to remain unified and address their differences.

Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Bahrain cut diplomatic ties and transportation links with Qatar on Monday.

Emirati state minister for foreign affairs Anwar Gargash in an interview with AFP at his office in Dubai on June 7, 2017.

Although it has been widely known that Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the UAE and Bahrain have always been frustrated by Doha's foreign policy activities that have shown support for the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, Islamist factions in Syria and friendly relations with Iran, the severity of the blockade reveals a much deeper mistrust than had previously been realised. "Such a "Trumpification" of relations in a region already susceptible to crises is particularly unsafe", Gabriel said.

Success of anti-Islamic world and their fanatic media is that the Arab world, instead of uniting firmly against the threat to them and Islam, has begun a serious quarrel among themselves, presenting an apologetic disposition to the world.

Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir said Gulf states could resolve a row with Qatar among themselves without outside help.

S&P Global Ratings on Wednesday cut Qatar's credit rating by one notch to AA- and put it on watch for further downgrades after Gulf Arab states severed ties.

In a sign of support for Doha, Turkey's parliament on Wednesday approved an agreement to expand the number of troops deployed to a Turkish base in Qatar. After first appearing to back the Saudi-led measures against Qatar on Twitter, he shifted gears and called for unity among Gulf Arab states.

As Kuwait's emir shuttled between Gulf capitals for talks, US President Donald Trump offered to host a White House meeting if necessary, in a change of heart from his initial support for the Saudi-led boycott.

But Tillerson hinted at a wrinkle in the storyline: the breakdown in diplomatic relations is impairing US mediation in the Middle East because Qatar hosts a USA air base with 10,000 troops.

Al-Udeid, located in the Qatari desert, is home to some 10,000 USA troops and is a crucial hub in the fight against Islamic State group extremists in Syria and Iraq.

German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel accused the USA president of fanning conflict in the Middle East and risking a "new spiral in arms sales" with his remarks. Former President Hosni Mubarak of Egypt spoke a decade ago of "Tehran's hand moving easily throughout the region, from the Gulf to Morocco", according to United States diplomatic cables at the time. Qatar relies heavily on food imports, especially those coming over its only land border with Saudi Arabia.

"The time had come to call on Qatar to end its funding - they have to end that funding - and its extremist ideology in terms of funding", Trump said. UAE and Qatar have been on a collision course for a long time over Qatar's patronisation of the Muslim Brotherhood and its affiliates.

The UAE attorney general said Wednesday that "any participation in conversation or social media or any other means that demonstrates sympathy to Qatar... may face a prison sentence of three to 15 years and a fine of no less than 500,000 dirhams ($136,000)". The move expands on an earlier ban on direct flights between the two countries and UAE travel restrictions on Qatari passport-holders and citizens of other nations who have Qatari residence permits. Houssaini detailed the reasons why Morocco is the Arab country best fit to play a mediation role in the Qatar crisis.

Gulf states view the Brotherhood, the world's oldest Islamist movement and long Egypt's main opposition group, as a risky political enemy.

The dispute was also prompted in part by claims that Qatar was trying to undermine neighboring governments by giving financial support to opposition movements and using its flagship television channel Al Jazeera as a mouthpiece to attack them.