Gulf crisis: Trump unfazed by Iran's charges

New Delhi [India], June 06 (ANI): It seems that U.S. President Donald Trump is not dismayed over being held responsible for the ongoing 'Gulf crisis', instead he is taking credit for the same. Seemingly unfazed over the accusations, the President tweeted, "During my recent trip to the Middle East I stated that there can no longer be funding of Radical Ideology. Leaders pointed to Qatar - look!". <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">During my recent trip to the Middle East I stated that there can no longer be funding of Radical Ideology. Leaders pointed to Qatar - look!</p>&mdash; Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/872062159789985792">June 6, 2017</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> Recently, six Arab countries including Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, as well as the Western-recognised governments of Yemen and Libya, abruptly cut diplomatic ties with Qatar, after accusing it of supporting the Muslim Brotherhood, Islamist political movement that allegedly supports pro-Iran militias, and funding terror activities. The Middle Eastern countries were later joined by the Indian Ocean island nation of The Maldives. Following the crisis, Iranian officials accused the U.S. of setting the scene for the escalating Gulf diplomatic crisis during President Donald Trump's recent trip to the Saudi Arabia. Two weeks ago, on his first foreign visit, Trump met the rulers of several Middle Eastern countries to discuss measures to limit Iran's power in the region, a gathering which he had hoped "may someday be remembered as the beginning of peace in the Middle East." He also announced $110 billion-worth of weapons sales to Saudi Arabia. The present tension in the Gulf started right after Trump left the region. Tensions surged between countries closer to Saudi Arabia (such as Bahrain, and Egypt) and others, such Qatar, with ties to Iran. Earlier, a Saudi press agency statement said the move was necessary because of "grave violations being committed by the authorities in Doha over the past years in secret and public," including giving shelter to various terrorist groups, some of them backed by Iran. 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. (ANI)