President Donald Trump, accompanied by Romanian President Klaus Werner Iohannis, speaks during a news conference in the Rose Garden at the White House, Friday, June 9, 2017, in Washington. (AP Photo/Andrew... (Associated Press) 
 
 WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump is ramping up pressure on Qatar to stop what he calls a "high level" of financial support of terrorism, even as Secretary of State Rex Tillerson tries to calm the worst diplomatic crisis in the Persian Gulf in years. 
 
 Trump's demand that there be "no more funding" by Qatar for extremists groups contradicted the message delivered Friday by Tillerson, who had urged Qatar's neighbors to ease their blockade while calling for "calm and thoughtful dialogue." Only an hour later, Tillerson sat in the front row in the Rose Garden as Trump enthusiastically embraced the move by Saudi Arabia, Egypt and others to punish Qatar. 
 
 "The nation of Qatar, unfortunately, has historically been a funder of terrorism at a very high level," Trump said, echoing an allegation the Saudi-led group has used to justify cutting diplomatic ties to the tiny gas-rich country. "We have to stop the funding of terrorism." 
 
 Despite Tillerson's plea for "no further escalation," Trump's sharp comments were likely to further embolden Saudi Arabia and the others in their bid to isolate Qatar. The State Department had said the U.S. learned only at the last minute about the Arab nations' plan to cut ties. But Trump said that he, Tillerson and military leaders had decided during Trump's trip to Saudi Arabia last month that a public rebuke was needed. 
 
 "The time had come to call on Qatar to end its funding — they have to end that funding — and its extremist ideology in terms of funding," Trump said. Though the president said others, too, were guilty of supporting terrorism, he said he would not name them. 
 
 In a day of mixed messages and chaotic diplomacy, Tillerson emphasized the economic, humanitarian and military damage he said the blockade was inflicting. He said families were being separated, children removed from school and Qataris forced to deal with food shortages. 
 
 "We believe these are unintended consequences, especially during this Holy Month of Ramadan, but they can be addressed immediately," he said. 
 
 Tillerson also said the blockade by Qatar's neighbors was "hindering U.S. military action in the region, and the campaign against ISIS," using an acronym for the Islamic State group. But at the Pentagon, a spokesman, Navy Capt. Jeff Davis, said only long-term military planning was affected. Davis said the diplomatic rift has not interrupted or curtailed operations at al-Udeid air base, a launching pad for U.S. military efforts in Iraq, Syria and Afghanistan. 
 
 Still, the Pentagon has been developing contingency plans in case there's any interruption, defense officials said. Aircraft that fly out of Qatar - including fighter jets, drones and refueling planes - can be relocated to a number of other bases in the region including in Iraq, Turkey, Kuwait and Bahrain and off aircraft carriers, the officials said. 
 
 There was no immediate reaction from Qatar, which hosts some 10,000 U.S. troops. The Qatari Embassy in Washington did not respond to a request for comment. 
 
 The escalating crisis in the Persian Gulf erupted this week when Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Egypt and Bahrain cut ties to Qatar, accusing the country of tolerating or even encouraging support for extremist groups, including al-Qaida's Syria branch. Qatar's neighbors have also criticized Qatar for allegedly supporting groups like the Muslim Brotherhood and Hamas. 
 
 "Qatar has a history of supporting groups that span the spectrum of political expression, from activism to violence," Tillerson said. He credited Qatar's emir with making progress in curbing financial support and expelling terrorists, but added, "He must do more, and he must do it more quickly." 
 
 The spat has led to one of the worst Gulf crises in decades, with suspended flights and regional ports closed to Qatari ships. Increasing the pressure Friday, Qatar's neighbors put 12 organizations and 59 people on a terror sanctions list and described them as being associated with Qatar. The country called the allegations "baseless." 
 
 Tillerson, speaking at the State Department, said the U.S. would help support efforts to mediate the crisis, along with Kuwait — another Gulf country that has stepped up to try to broker a resolution. Urging all sides to avoid further escalation of the conflict, Tillerson said the elements were available to resolve it. 
 
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 Associated Press writers Robert Burns, Lolita C. Baldor and Julie Pace contributed to this report. 
 
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 Reach Josh Lederman on Twitter at http://twitter.com/joshledermanAP 

 In An Afternoon, Trump And Tillerson Appear To Contradict Each Other On Qatar 
 
 Enlarge this image toggle caption Paul J. Richards/AFP/Getty Images Paul J. Richards/AFP/Getty Images 
 
 As Secretary of State Rex Tillerson tries to heal a deep rift among Arab partners, President Trump seems to be upping the ante. Trump says he consulted with Saudi Arabia and others on a recent trip to Riyadh and decided to call out Qatar for its "very high level" of terror financing. 
 
 Since then, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Bahrain and Egypt have severed diplomatic ties and transport links with Qatar. Tillerson told reporters at the State Department shortly before Trump spoke that this blockade is hindering the U.S.-led military campaign against ISIS, creating hardships for the people of Qatar and "impairing U.S. and other international business activities in the region." 
 
 Trump had asked Tillerson to help mediate the crisis, and the secretary has been calling his counterparts in the region to "de-escalate" the situation and resolve their grievances. Tillerson's carefully crafted statement urges the emir of Qatar to do more to stem terrorist financing but adds that "others must also continue to eliminate factions of support for violent organizations within their own borders." He also pointedly asked Saudi Arabia and others to ease their blockade on Qatar. 
 
 toggle caption Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images 
 
 Tillerson then went to the White House, where Trump seemed to contradict him, putting the focus squarely back on Qatar. At a joint news conference with his Romanian counterpart, Trump described his recent visit to Riyadh, where "nations came together and spoke to me about confronting Qatar over its behavior. So we had a decision to make. Do we take the easy road or do we finally take hard but necessary action?" he said, adding he decided "the time had come to call on Qatar to end its funding." 
 
 Qatar is the regional headquarters for U.S. Central Command and home to some 10,000 American troops, NPR's Scott Horsley has reported. 
 
 "While current operations from Al Udeid Air Base have not been hindered or curtailed, the evolving situation is hindering our ability to plan for longer-term military operations," said Capt. Jeff Davis, a Pentagon spokesman, according to The New York Times. 
 
 Asked for comment after the president's remarks, a State Department spokesman offered a chart comparing parts of the two speeches that appeared to track, but he did not directly answer whether the speeches were coordinated. 
 
 A senator on the Foreign Relations Committee, Chris Murphy, D-Conn., noticed the contradiction between Trump's and Tillerson's remarks, writing on Twitter that this is not how foreign policy is supposed to work. "This is bananas," Murphy wrote.
– President Trump delivered a sharp message to Qatar to halt funding terrorism—an order that appeared to undermine his own secretary of state, the Washington Post reports. Trump told reporters Friday that Mideast leaders had complained to him about Qatar, which he said has "historically been a funder of terrorism at a very high level." He called the Saudi-led blockade of the kingdom "hard but necessary" and declared, per the AP, "the time had come to call on Qatar to end its funding." One hour earlier, however, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson told Arab states to ease up on Qatar, saying the blockade was hurting Qataris, impeding the fight against ISIS, and "impairing US and other international business activities in the region," per NPR. At Trump's request, Tillerson has played mediator in the stand-off, urging Qatar to step up efforts to stop funding terrorism but also pointedly saying that "others" need to battle extremists "within their own borders." When asked for comment on the apparently conflicting speeches, a State Department rep gave NPR a chart comparing parts of the text that appeared to jibe. A White House official tells the Washington Post, "I think the policy is consistent." He adds that Trump is not opposed to easing the blockade but he believes that Qatar "deserves it." It wasn't clear what effect Trump's comments would have on relations with Qatar, which the AP notes is home to major US air base used as a base for operations in Syria, Iraq, and Afghanistan. (Trump's tweets might make things harder for the US military in Qatar.)