President Donald Trump has injected the United States into a volatile crisis among America’s Mideast allies, siding with Saudi Arabia and other countries against Qatar in a dispute that threatens to disrupt efforts to defeat the Islamic State group and counter Iran.

In a series of early-morning tweets on Tuesday, President Trump appeared to endorse the accusation that the small, gas-rich kingdom funds terrorist groups, a serious allegation against a strategic US partner that hosts a base with some 10,000 American troops.

He also sought to cast the anti-Qatar action led by the Saudis and the United Arab Emirates as the result of his trip last month to Riyadh, where he pressed leaders from dozens of Arab and Muslim governments, including Qatar’s emir, to combat extremism.

President Trump said he’d told the kings, presidents and prime ministers that funding “Radical Ideology” can’t be tolerated, and “Leaders pointed to Qatar – look!”

“They said they would take a hard line on funding … extremism, and all reference was pointing to Qatar. Perhaps this will be the beginning of the end to the horror of terrorism!” Trump said on Twitter, claiming his visit to Saudi Arabia was “already paying off.

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He appeared to take a more measured tone during a call with Saudi Arabia’s King Salman.

President Trump told King Salman that a united Gulf Co-operation Council is “critical to defeating terrorism and promoting regional stability,” according to a White House readout of the conversation.

The council includes Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Oman and Kuwait.

The president’s sharp critique of Qatar pulled the US directly into a conflict that American diplomats had wanted the bickering parties to resolve among themselves.

The US wasn’t planning a major mediation role, a State Department official said.

The fracas pits Qatar, the world’s biggest producer of liquefied natural gas – against Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Egypt and Bahrain.

Those countries on Monday severed diplomatic ties with Qatar