The Latest: Etihad airline suspends flights to Qatar

FILE – In this May 14, 2015 file photo, Qatar’s Emir Sheik Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, third from right, poses with U.S. President Barack Obama, center, and other Gulf nations’ leaders, from left, Abu Dhabi crown prince Sheik Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan; Bahrain Crown Prince Prince Salman bin Hamad Al-Khalif; Deputy Prime Minister of Oman, Sayyid Fahad Bin Mahmood Al Said; Kuwait’s Emir Sheik Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah; Saudi Arabia Crown Prince Mohammed bin Nayef; and Secretary General of the Gulf Cooperation Council, Abdul Latif Bin Rashid Al Zayani of Bahrain after their meeting at Camp David in Maryland. Four Arab nations, Bahrain, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, cut diplomatic ties to Qatar early Monday morning, June 5, 2017, further deepening a rift among Gulf Arab nations over that country’s support for Islamist groups and its relations with Iran. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais, File)

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The Latest on the Gulf Arab dispute with Qatar (all times local):

9:35 a.m.

The Abu Dhabi-based airline Etihad says it is suspending flights to Qatar amid a growing diplomatic rift.

Etihad said on its website Monday its last flights “until further notice” would leave early Tuesday morning.

Etihad gave no reason for the decision. It is the flag carrier of the United Arab Emirates.

The airline’s decision comes as Bahrain, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the UAE all cut diplomatic ties Monday to Qatar over its support of Islamist groups and its relations with Iran.

Qatar has yet to comment on the growing crisis.

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7:10 a.m.

The United Arab Emirates and Egypt have cut diplomatic ties to Qatar.

The two countries have joined Saudi Arabia and Bahrain in cutting ties to Qatar amid a growing Arab diplomatic dispute with the small, gas-rich nation.

Both the UAE and Egypt made the announcement on their state-run news agencies within minutes of each other.

Qatari officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The dispute between Qatar and the Gulf’s Arab countries started over a purported hack of Qatar’s state-run news agency. It has spiraled since.

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7 a.m.

Saudi Arabia says it is cutting diplomatic ties to Qatar and it has pulled all Qatari troops from the ongoing war in Yemen.

Saudi Arabia made the announcement via its state-run Saudi Press Agency early Monday. It appeared to be timed in concert with an earlier announcement by Bahrain similarly cutting ties.

Qatar had no immediate comment.

The dispute between Qatar and the Gulf’s Arab countries started over a purported hack of Qatar’s state-run news agency. It has spiraled since.

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6:50 a.m.

Bahrain says it is cutting diplomatic ties to Qatar amid a deepening rift between Gulf Arab nations.

Bahrain’s Foreign Affairs Ministry issued a statement early Monday saying it would withdraw its diplomatic mission from the Qatari capital of Doha within 48 hours and that all Qatari diplomats should leave Bahrain within the same period.

The ministry’s statement said Qatari citizens needed to leave Bahrain within two weeks and that air and sea traffic between the two countries would be halted. It wasn’t immediately clear how that would affect Qatar Airways, one of the region’s major long-haul carriers.

Bahrain blamed Qatar’s “media incitement, support for armed terrorist activities and funding linked to Iranian groups to carry out sabotage and spreading chaos in Bahrain” for its decision.

Qatar had no immediate comment.