Pompeo, in Kuwait, again urges resolution to Gulf crisis

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is renewing calls for a resolution to a festering dispute between Qatar and four other Arab nations, all America's Mideast partners.

On a visit to Kuwait, Pompeo says the crisis that has roiled the Gulf Cooperation Council for almost two years is hindering efforts to combat regional threats posed by Iran, the Islamic State group and others.

Bahrain, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates began a boycott of Qatar in June 2017, alleging that Qatar funds extremists and has too-cozy ties to Iran. Qatar has long denied funding extremists, but Doha shares a massive offshore natural gas field with Tehran.

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo meets with Members of U.S. Chamber of Commerce, U.S. and Kuwait Business Leaders in Kuwait, Wednesday, March 20, 2019. (Jim YoungPool Photo via AP)

Pompeo is in Kuwait on the first leg of a Mideast tour that will take him next to Israel and Lebanon.

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, left, shakes hands with Kuwait's Emir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al- Jaber Al-Sabah, in Kuwait City, Kuwait, Wednesday, March 20, 2019. (Jim YoungPool Photo via AP)

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo meets with Kuwait's Emir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al- Jaber Al-Sabah in Kuwait City, Kuwait, Wednesday, March 20, 2019. (Jim YoungPool Photo via AP)

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo meets with Kuwait's Foreign Minister Sheikh Sabah Al-Khalid Al-Sabah in Kuwait, Wednesday, March 20, 2019. (Jim YoungPool Photo via AP)

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo shakes hands with Kuwait's Foreign Minister Sheikh Sabah Al-Khalid Al-Sabah in Kuwait, Wednesday, March 20, 2019. (Jim YoungPool Photo via AP)