Qatar crisis: developments Wednesday August 9

Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and several other Sunni-majority countries have severed relations with Qatar since June 5, accusing the Gulf state of supporting terrorism based on its ties with the Muslim Brotherhood, Hamas and the Taliban.

Another point of departure is Qatar's ties with Iran, with whom it shares one of the world's biggest gas fields.

Qatar has denied the accusations and called the collective decision "unjustified." Kuwait, Turkey and the US have all urged a political solution as the bloc isolates Qatar using various ad hoc sanctions, including shutting down their airspace to Qataris and blocking import routes.

The dispute began in May when Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al Thani was reported to have made statements on the state news agency supporting Iran. Doha said the statements were fabricated and disseminated via a hack.

Here are the latest developments in the crisis:

Wednesday, August 9

US delegation visits Qatar

Qatar's emir Tamim bin Hamad al Thani met on Wednesday with a visiting US delegation in the capital Doha.

The delegation includes US Deputy Assistant Secretary for Arabian Gulf Affairs Tim Lenderking and retired general Anthony Zinni, according to the Doha-based Al Jazeera television network.

Last week, US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said he would dispatch the delegation to the Gulf to help resolve the conflict.

"I am going to dispatch Tim back to the area … and I have also asked Zinni to be with Tim so that we can maintain a constant pressure on the ground … We are committed to see this disagreement resolved, restore Gulf unity, because we think it is important to the long-term effort to defeat terrorism in the region," he said.

On Monday, the US delegation visited Kuwait, which has been mediating to resolve the conflict.

For more on earlier developments click here.