Chad recalls ambassador from Qatar amid Gulf Arab row

President Trump hammered the tiny nation of Qatar, a vital Middle Eastern ally of the United States, for its history of funding terror groups, even as a diplomatic blockade of the gas-rich country by other Arab States is hindering US military operations against ISIS fighters in Iraq and Syria.

Tillerson said that after speaking with Gulf leaders it is clear "that the elements of a solution are available" and that the USA expects "that these countries will immediately take steps to de-escalate the situation and put forth a good faith effort to resolve their grievances they have with each other".

Al-Shamsi said these new measures were in response to Qatar's "hostile and irresponsible" policies against the UAE and against the "other Gulf and Arab brotherly states".

"They said they would take a hard line on funding. extremism, and all reference was pointing to Qatar".

President Donald Trump spoke to Qatar's emir on Wednesday, offering USA mediation in a crisis that has split Washington's allies and pushed regional powers toward confrontation.

But Tillerson focused on asking the four nations to ease the blockade, citing humanitarian consequences like food shortages.

The blockade is also impairing US and other worldwide business activities in the region and has created a hardship on the people of Qatar and the people whose livelihoods depend on commerce with Qatar.

"Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan has criticised the Arab states' move, saying isolating Qatar and imposing sanctions will not resolve any problems and adding that Ankara will do everything in its power to help end the crisis", Al Jazeera reported.

The United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Bahrain accuse Qatar of supporting terrorism, which Qatar denies.

"The emir of Qatar has made progress in halting financial support and expelling terrorist elements from his country", Tillerson said. So we had a decision to make.

Gabriel, a longtime critic of German arms sales, also criticized Trump's recent large USA weapons sales to other countries in the Gulf. Trump, however, did not appear to be on the same page on Tillerson, and never mentioned ending the blockade.

The governments of Bahrain, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and the United Arab Emirates announced they would withdraw their diplomatic envoys from Qatar and eject Qatari officials from their lands.

With the conflict between Qatar and some of its Gulf neighbours intensifying, UAE national carrier Etihad has declared that Qatar's nationals as well as its expat residents will not be allowed to travel to or transit through UAE airports. It has threatened to punish offenders with a jail term of up to 15 years, media reports said.

Speaking to reporters in Paris on Tuesday, Jubeir said that Qatar needs to stop supporting "extremist groups" like Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood.

In some of the strongest comments related to those efforts by a senior Gulf Arab official, Sheikh Khalid told the newspaper he doubted whether Qatar would change its behaviour.

Qatar has maintained its diplomatic clout in part by being the home of U.S. Central Command and the U.S's largest air base in the region and hosting branches of prestigious Western universities.

"They will not have a positive impact on the region but a negative one", the minister said while on a visit to Germany.