President Trump accuses Qatar of sponsoring terrorism

US President Donald Trump has for the first time accused Qatar of sponsoring terrorism and called on the country to end similar acts and extremism.

Qatar "has long been a sponsor of terrorism at a very high level," the Guardian quoted Mr. Trump as saying on June 9 during a press conference with Romanian President Klaus Iohannis at the White House, Reuters reported.

"I have decided, along with Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and our military leaders, that it is time to call on Qatar to end its sponsorship of terrorism. They must end their funding and extremist ideology," US President Trump said.

US President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Tillerson. Photo: AP

This is President Trump's first direct statement on the crisis in the Gulf region after Saudi Arabia and neighboring countries announced the severance of all diplomatic relations with Qatar.

Mr Trump's statement came hours after US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson urged Arab countries to ease the blockade of Qatar due to concerns about the humanitarian consequences and the potential to hinder the US-led campaign against the self-proclaimed Islamic State (IS).

"We call on the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Bahrain and Egypt to ease the blockade on Qatar," Al-Jazeera quoted US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson as saying on June 9.

Mr Tillerson said the blockade had caused "unintended" consequences and hoped these countries "would take immediate steps to de-escalate the situation and resolve the differences".

According to CAND