Trump takes sides in Arab rift, suggests support for isolation of Qatar

Buildings are seen on a coast line in Doha, Qatar June 5, 2017. [Photo/VCG]

Trump's tweet appeared at odds with comments from US officials who had said on Monday that the United States would quietly try to calm the waters between Saudi Arabia and Qatar because Qatar is too important to US military and diplomatic interests to be isolated.

Qatar has for years parlayed its enormous gas wealth and media strength into broad influence in the region. But Gulf Arab neighbours and Egypt have long been irked by its maverick stances and support for the Muslim Brotherhood, which they regard as a political enemy.

Saudi Arabia's foreign minister said on Tuesday that Qatar needed to take several steps, including ending its support of Palestinian militant group Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood, to restore ties with other key Arab states, which also cut transport links.

"We've decided to take steps to make clear that enough is enough," Adel Al-Jubeir told journalists in Paris. He said the "fairly large cost" on Qatar's economy would convince it to change its policies.

The campaign to isolate Qatar disrupted trade in commodities from crude oil to metals and food, and deepened fears of a possible shock to the global natural gas market, where it is a major player.

Qataris crowded into supermarkets to stock up on goods, fearing shortages.

Maersk, the world's biggest container shipping line, said it was unable to transport goods in or out of Qatar because it could not take them through the UAE port of Jebel Ali.

Jordan joined the pressure on Qatar, downgrading its diplomatic representation and revoking the license of Doha-based TV channel Al Jazeera.