Turkey's parliament is expected to fast track on Wednesday existing legislation to allow its troops to be deployed to a Turkish military base in Qatar, officials from the ruling AK Party and the nationalist opposition said.

Iraq is not taking sides in the dispute that pits Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries against Qatar, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi told a news conference on Tuesday in Baghdad.

U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis spoke on Tuesday by phone with his Qatari counterpart following a decision by Arab powers to cut ties to the Gulf ally, a Pentagon spokesman told Reuters, without disclosing the details of their discussion.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan stood to defend Qatar on Tuesday, saying he intends to "develop" ties with the embattled Gulf state hit by sanction from Saudi Arabia and its allies.

Kuwait's emir left Saudi Arabia after what state news agency KUNA described as a "brotherly visit" but there was no word on the outcome of the talks with King Salman bin Abdulaziz on a major diplomatic rift.

Qatar is talking to Iran and Turkey about securing food and water supplies to stave off possible shortages two days after its biggest suppliers, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, cut trade and diplomatic ties, a government official said on Wednesday.

U.S. President Donald Trump took sides in a deep rift in the Arab world on Tuesday, praising Middle East countries' actions against American ally Qatar over Islamist militants even though the tiny Gulf state hosts the largest U.S. air base in the region.

France on Wednesday appeared to caution Qatar in its diplomatic rift with some fellow Arab states by saying the Gulf nation needed to be transparent and answer the questions its neighbors had asked it.

Bahraini Minister of Interior Rashid bin Abdullah Al Khalifa, received Wednesday (June 7, 2017) morning UK Ambassador to Bahrain, Simon Martin.

The West African country of Mauritania, a member of the Arab League, severed ties with Qatar on Tuesday over allegations it "supports terrorists", the state news agency reported.

Turkish President Recep Tayyeb Erdogan held a phone call with Bahrain King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, two days after Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, and UAE cut their ties with Qatar.

The Foreign Minister expressed his gratitude to the UAE, Saudi, Egypt Ambassadors for their countries’ solidarity with Bahrain, in cutting ties with Qatar.

Saudi Arabia and Bahrain on Tuesday revoked the licences of Qatar Airways and ordered its offices to be closed within 48 hours, as the two Gulf Arab states severed transport links with Doha in a diplomatic row.

The Royal Court announced that Bahrain King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa will leave today to Saudi Arabia, in a visit during which he will meet his Saudi counterpart Salman bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud.

Why did the King take advantage of every incident to open a political dispute with Sheikh Isa Qassim? Why did he want a dispute and not a dialogue?

Islamic State claimed responsibility for attacks on Iran's parliament and Ayatollah Khomeini's shrine on Wednesday, the group's state news agency AMAQ said.

German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel expressed alarm about the sudden escalation of tensions in the Gulf after Saudi Arabia and other states abruptly broke off ties with Qatar, warning of the dangers of "Trumpification" of relations in the region.

U.S. Air Force Secretary Heather Wilson told a Senate committee she was not concerned about the U.S. air base in Qatar despite Saudi Arabia's decision to sever diplomatic ties with Qatar.

Attackers raided Iran’s parliament and opened fire at the Mausoleum of Ayatollah Khomeini a few kilometers south of the capital on Wednesday morning, in near simultaneous assaults that killed up to seven people, media reported.

The United Arab Emirates has banned people from publishing expressions of sympathy toward Qatar and will punish offenders with a jail term of up to 15 years, the UAE-based newspaper Gulf News and pan-Arab channel Al-Arabiya reported on Wednesday.