Saudi, Bahrain, Egypt and UAE sever diplomatic ties with Qatar

Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates announced on Monday they were severing diplomatic ties with Qatar, as they accused the Gulf state of supporting terrorism.

Saudi news agency SPA said Riyadh cut diplomatic ties and closed borders with its neighbour to "protect its national security from the dangers of terrorism and extremism".

A Saudi official cited by SPA said the country decided to "sever diplomatic and consular ties with Qatar, and to close all land, sea and aviation ports".

The "decisive" measure was due to the "gross violations committed by authorities in Qatar over the past years", the Saudi statement said, as the UAE made an announcement cutting ties.

Egypt's foreign ministry also accused Doha of supporting "terrorism" in a statement as it announced the severing of ties.

The statement said all Egyptian ports and airports would be closed to Qatari vessels.

Bahrain news agency said the tiny kingdom was cutting ties with Doha over its insistence on "shaking the security and stability of Bahrain and meddling in its affairs".

The Saudi-led Arab coalition in Yemen's two-year war also said it had expelled Qatar.

Qatar slammed the decisions of three Gulf states and Egypt to sever ties with it, saying they were "unjustified" and aimed to put Doha under political "guardianship".

"The measures are unjustified and are based on false and baseless claims," the Qatari foreign ministry said in a statement, referring to the unprecedented steps taken by Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt.

"The aim is clear, and it is to impose guardianship on the state. This by itself is a violation of its (Qatar's) sovereignty as a state," it added.

India doesn't foresee any problems for its own relations in the Gulf region after Saudi Arabia and four of its allies cut off diplomatic and other ties with gas-rich Qatar on Monday.

"There is no challenge arising out of this for us. This is an internal matter of GCC (Gulf Coordination Council). Our only concern is about Indians there. We are trying to find out if any Indians are stuck there," Sushma Swaraj said.