Donald Trump has appeared to take credit for the diplomatic and economic blockade imposed on Qatar by its neighbours in the worst crisis to hit the Gulf states in 30 years, saying evidence pointed to the state funding terrorism.
The president’s remarks on Tuesday will come as a shock to Qatar, which regarded itself as an ally of the US and is home to 10,000 US troops, and will delight Saudi Arabia, which until recently had been fighting off claims in Washington that Riyadh was the chief sponsor of terrorism.
In a series of tweets, Trump wrote: “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!”
He continued: “So good to see the Saudi Arabia visit with the King and 50 countries already paying off. They said they would take a hard line on funding extremism and all reference was pointing to Qatar. Perhaps this will be the beginning of the end to horror of terrorism!”
It was his first intervention in the crisis and, although it does not endorse the diplomatic boycott of Qatar, runs counter to the tone of other administration officials calling for compromise and reconciliation.
Both the US defence secretary, James Mattis, and the secretary of state, Rex Tillerson, have called for calm.
Saudi Arabia, UAE, Bahrain and Egypt announced on Monday they were cutting off air, sea and land links with Qatar and breaking off all diplomatic relations, claiming it had been supporting extremists, developing ties with Iran and acting as a safe harbour for key figures in Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood.
Qatar is also home to the US military’s regional headquarters in Al Udeid air base, which Qatar spent more than $1bn building and has been used to stage attacks against Isis in Syria and Iraq. Qatar regards itself as a key ally of the US, but its independent stance on foreign policy has increasingly angered the UAE and Saudi Arabia.
Qatar itself feels it is the victim of an orchestrated and well-planned operation designed to end its independent foreign policy, which has exploited renewed US support for Saudi Arabia.
Late on Tuesday, CNN reported that US officials believe Russian hackers planted fake news stories with Qatar’s state news agency in an attempt to create a rift with the US and its allies.
More at Donald Trump tweets support for blockade imposed on Qatar
The president’s remarks on Tuesday will come as a shock to Qatar, which regarded itself as an ally of the US and is home to 10,000 US troops, and will delight Saudi Arabia, which until recently had been fighting off claims in Washington that Riyadh was the chief sponsor of terrorism.
In a series of tweets, Trump wrote: “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!”
He continued: “So good to see the Saudi Arabia visit with the King and 50 countries already paying off. They said they would take a hard line on funding extremism and all reference was pointing to Qatar. Perhaps this will be the beginning of the end to horror of terrorism!”
It was his first intervention in the crisis and, although it does not endorse the diplomatic boycott of Qatar, runs counter to the tone of other administration officials calling for compromise and reconciliation.
Both the US defence secretary, James Mattis, and the secretary of state, Rex Tillerson, have called for calm.
Saudi Arabia, UAE, Bahrain and Egypt announced on Monday they were cutting off air, sea and land links with Qatar and breaking off all diplomatic relations, claiming it had been supporting extremists, developing ties with Iran and acting as a safe harbour for key figures in Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood.
Qatar is also home to the US military’s regional headquarters in Al Udeid air base, which Qatar spent more than $1bn building and has been used to stage attacks against Isis in Syria and Iraq. Qatar regards itself as a key ally of the US, but its independent stance on foreign policy has increasingly angered the UAE and Saudi Arabia.
Qatar itself feels it is the victim of an orchestrated and well-planned operation designed to end its independent foreign policy, which has exploited renewed US support for Saudi Arabia.
Late on Tuesday, CNN reported that US officials believe Russian hackers planted fake news stories with Qatar’s state news agency in an attempt to create a rift with the US and its allies.
More at Donald Trump tweets support for blockade imposed on Qatar
