Efforts to
defuse the regional crisis -- prompted on Monday when the UAE, Saudi Arabia,
Egypt and others severed diplomatic ties with Qatar over alleged support for
Islamist groups and Iran -- showed no immediate signs of success.
UAE Minister
of State for Foreign Affairs Anwar Gargash threatened more curbs if necessary
and said Qatar needed to make "iron-clad" commitments to change
policies on funding militants. Qatar vehemently denies giving such support.
U.S.
President Donald Trump took sides in the rift on Tuesday, praising the actions
against Qatar, but later spoke by phone with Saudi King Salman and stressed the
need for Gulf unity.
His defense
secretary, James Mattis, also spoke to his Qatari counterpart to express
commitment to the Gulf region's security. Qatar hosts 8,000 U.S. military
personnel at al Udeid, the largest U.S. air base in the Middle East and a
launchpad for U.S.-led strikes on the Islamic State militant group.
Kuwait's
emir has also been seeking to mediate, meeting Saudi's king on Tuesday.
Qatar's
isolation from powerful fellow Arab states advanced, however.
UAE-based
newspaper Gulf News and pan-Arab channel Al-Arabiya reported the crackdown on
expressions of sympathy with Qatar.
"Strict
and firm action will be taken against anyone who shows sympathy or any form of
bias towards Qatar, or against anyone who objects to the position of the United
Arab Emirates, whether it be through the means of social media, or any type of
written, visual or verbal form," Gulf News quoted UAE Attorney-General
Hamad Saif al-Shamsi as saying.
On top of a
possible jail term, offenders could also be hit with a fine of at least 500,000
UAE dirhams, the newspaper said, citing a statement to Arabic-language media.
Since the
diplomatic row erupted, slogans against and in support of Qatar have dominated
Twitter in Arabic, a platform used widely in the Arab world, particularly in
Saudi Arabia.
Newspapers
and television channels in the region have also been engaged in a war of words
over Qatar's role.
The UAE's
state-owned Etihad Airways, meanwhile, said all travelers holding Qatari
passports were currently prohibited from traveling to or transiting through the
emirates on government instructions.
Foreigners
residing in Qatar and in possession of a Qatari residence visa would also not
be eligible for visa on arrival in the UAE, Etihad spokesman said in an email.
"This
ruling applies to all airlines flying into the UAE," the spokesman said in
the statement.
Those
breaking ties with Qatar are the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Bahrain, the
Maldives, Mauritania and Libya's eastern-based government. Jordan has
downgraded its diplomatic representation and revoked the license of Doha-based
TV channel Al Jazeera.
SQUEEZE
Ordinary
Qataris were loading up on supplies in supermarkets, fearing shortages. But
financial markets were relatively calm after some recent jumps.
Qatar's
stock index was roughly unchanged after plummeting 8.7 percent over the last
two days.
"Tensions
are still high and mediation efforts by fellow Gulf Cooperation Council state
Kuwait have yet to lead to a concrete solution, so investors will likely remain
on edge," said one Dubai-based trader.
Qatar has
said it will not retaliate against the curbs.
"We are
willing to sit and talk," Qatari Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin
Abdulrahman al-Thani told CNN late on Tuesday. He said his country was
"protecting the world from potential terrorists".
A Qatari
official, however, said the rift was pushing Doha in the direction of leaving
the six-state Gulf Cooperation Council, "with deep regret".
Bans on
Doha's fleet using regional ports and anchorages are threatening to halt some
of its exports and disrupt those of liquefied natural gas.
Traders on
global markets worried that Riyadh's allies would refuse to accept LNG
shipments from the Gulf state, the world's largest liquefied natural gas
exporter, and that Egypt might even bar tankers carrying Qatari cargoes from
using the Suez Canal as they head to Europe and beyond.
REUTERS*
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