Trump jumps into worsening dispute between Qatar and powerful Arab bloc - The Washington Post

"Trump administration officials said Tuesday that President Trump was not “taking sides” in the deepening dispute among key U.S. counterterrorism partners in the Persian Gulf, despite a morning of presidential Twitter posts congratulating Saudi Arabia — and himself — for cracking down on Qatar for alleged terrorism financing.



“During my recent trip to the Middle East, I stated that there can no longer be funding of Radical Ideology,” Trump tweeted. “Leaders pointed to Qatar — look!”



“So good to see the Saudi Arabia visit with the King and 50 countries already paying off,” he continued. “They said they would take a hard line on funding extremism, and all reference was pointing to Qatar.”



On Monday, several of Qatar’s gulf neighbors — Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain — were joined by Egypt and smaller nations in severing diplomatic ties with Qatar, ordering its diplomats and citizens to leave and threatening deeply intertwined regional trade links and air routes...."



Trump jumps into worsening dispute between Qatar and powerful Arab bloc - The Washington Post