US State Department: Gulf crisis could intensify and drag for months

The United States is increasingly concerned that a dispute between Qatar and other Arab states is at an impasse and could drag on for a long time or intensify, the US State Department said on Thursday.

"We remain very concerned about that ongoing situation between Qatar and GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) countries," State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert told a briefing.

"We've become increasingly concerned that the dispute is at an impasse at this point. We believe that this could potentially drag on for weeks, it could drag on for months. It could possibly even intensify," she said.

Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, and Bahrain have cut diplomatic and transport ties with Qatar, which they accuse of supporting terrorism and allying with regional foe Iran. Doha denies the charges.

The four countries earlier presented Doha with a list of 13 demands they said were non-negotiable to lift the blockade. They include shutting down a Turkish military base in Qatar and closing the Al Jazeera news network.

Wednesday was the deadline for the conditions. The Arab allies’ foreign minister said they were disappointed with Doha’s negative response.

The states leading the boycott against Qatar also said late on Thursday that Doha's refusal of their demands is proof of its links to terror groups and that they would enact new measures against it.

They released a joint statement saying their initial list of 13 demands was now void and that they would take political, economic and legal steps against Qatar.

Qatar had called the demands unrealistic and made to be rejected.

Washington has expressed conflicting stances on the crisis. While the State Department has stressed the importance of dialogue and pressed Saudi Arabia and its allies to present "reasonable and actionable" demands, President Donald Trump has sided with Riyadh, repeatedly accusing Qatar of funding terrorism.

"We had a decision to make, do we take the easy road or do we finally take a hard but necessary action," Trump said on 9 June. "We have to stop the funding of terrorism. I decided ... the time had come to call on Qatar to end its funding."

Last week, Washington’s ambassador to the UN, Nikki Haley, said the tensions are an opportunity to sway both Saudi and Qatar.

Haley said Washington should let Doha know that the US objects to its support for groups like Hamas.

"But at the same time, go back to Saudi Arabia and say: 'Look, you can talk to them (the Qataris), but at the same time, you've got to cut this out; you've got to stop doing this'," she continued. "It's an opportunity to kind of hit on both of them."