Donald Trump appears to back Saudi Arabia in Qatar stand off with Gulf states
US president weighs in on escalating diplomatic crisis with tweet suggesting support for allies in Riyadh's decision
Donald Trump has appeared to
side with Saudi Arabia in its diplomatic stand-off with Qatar, referencing his recent trip to the Saudi capital of Riyadh in which he vowed to end support for Islamic extremism.
"During my recent trip to the Middle East I stated that there can no longer be funding of Radical Ideology. Leaders pointed to Qatar - look!" the US president tweeted on Tuesday.
Saudi Arabia, along with Gulf neighbours the UAE and Bahrain as well as Egypt, moved to isolate the tiny kingdom on Monday in a coordinated severing of diplomatic ties. The row could have manifold economic and political effects for the Middle East, as well as alter the course of the region's many conflicts.
On Tuesday, supermarket shelves across the country were empty after panic buying and Doha's Hamad International Airport was eerily quiet as the first concrete effects of the rift were felt.
A statement from Monday carried on SPA, the Saudi state news agency, accused Doha of harbouring "terrorist and sectarian groups that aim to destabilise the region including the Muslim Brotherhood, Isis and Al-Qaeda," as well as alleged Iranian-backed Shia militia activity in east Saudi Arabia and Bahrain.
The suggestion that Qatar is aiding and abetting Shia Iran - the majority Sunni Gulf's arch-rival - is particularly sensitive. Doha has called the claims "baseless".
“The Qatari Government will take all necessary measures... to thwart attempts to influence and harm the Qatari society and economy,” a statement from the foreign ministry said.
It went on to describe the crisis as being fuelled by “absolute fabrications” stemming from last month's hacking of Qatar’s state-run news agency.
The row has been caused in part by backlash over Qatar’s decision to rescue 24 members of the royal family, as well as two Saudi nationals, who were kidnapped by Shia paramilitaries while on a hunting trip in southern Iraq - a deal exclusively revealed by The Independent in April.
Doha’s agreement to pay the extraordinary $500m (£389m) ransom greatly angered its Gulf neighbours, who have long accused it of funding or otherwise supporting controversial groups and meddling in regional affairs, particularly through state-owned broadcaster al-Jazeera.
Iran, which Mr Trump singled out as a key source of funding and support for extremist groups during his two-day trip to Riyadh last month, is a secondary target of the decision by Saudi Arabia and its allies.
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