The Australian BEL TREW-The Times 9:14AM September 21, 2017 Donald Trump prevented war between Saudi Arabia and Qatar Saudi Arabia and its Gulf allies were planning to launch a military assault on Qatar before President Trump intervened and persuaded them otherwise, it has emerged. Mr Trump acted amid fears that the diplomatic rift, sparked when Qatar’s neighbours severed ties with the kingdom, accusing it of supporting terror, was about to escalate into a regional war. Mr Trump intervened after Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Bahrain had imposed a blockade on the tiny Gulf state, according to Bloomberg. The four allies closed air and shipping routes and expelled all Qatari nationals, prompting the most serious crisis in the Gulf in decades. Saudi Arabia and the UAE, both Sunni-majority nations, wanted to change the Qatari regime, accusing it of aligning itself with Iran, the Shia powerhouse in the region. They were considering military action, the two sources told Bloomberg, but Mr Trump apparently implored them to hold off, convincing them that an attack would trigger a crisis that would ultimately benefit Iran. The Saudi-led blockade put in place since then has forced Qatar to turn to Turkey, Iran, Oman and Kuwait for food supplies and new shipping routes. Saudi Arabia and its allies also issued a 13-point list of demands including that Qatar expel Turkish troops on its soil and close its television news broadcaster Al Jazeera. Mr Trump was accused in some quarters of being partly responsible for the crisis when he claimed during a fiery speech in June that Qatar was a “high-level funder” of terrorism. The US has since gone to lengths to resolve the row, which has threatened to split the region and undermine joint efforts to fight Islamic State. Qatar is home to America’s largest military base in the Middle East. Mr Trump made a series of telephone calls to all parties saying that the crisis was distracting US allies as they tried to form a united front against Iran, officials told Bloomberg. The Saudis have since watered down some of their demands. They are insisting that the output of Al Jazeera is toned down rather than requiring the network to be closed. Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmed al-Sabah, Kuwait’s emir, who has acted as mediator, praised Mr Trump’s efforts at a September 7 press conference. “Thank God, what’s important is that we stopped any military action,” he said. On Tuesday Mr Trump expressed optimism after meeting Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, Qatar’s emir, saying he believed that the crisis would end soon. “I have a very strong feeling that it will be solved pretty quickly,” Mr Trump said on the sidelines of the UN general assembly in New York. On Tuesday Qatar renewed calls for “unconditional dialogue” with the four nations aligned against it and is still refusing to meet the 13-point list of demands. Sheikh Tamim said in his speech to the UN that the blockade was hurting the region’s efforts to combat terrorism.