The White House says President Donald Trump and Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud spoke by telephone, and the two stressed the need for Gulf unity following a decision by Arab states in the region to cut ties with Qatar.
A statement issued late Tuesday said the two discussed the "critical goals of preventing the financing of terrorist organizations and eliminating the promotion of extremism by any nation in the region."
Earlier in the day, the president entered the diplomatic spat involving Qatar and major Arab nations over Doha's alleged support of Iran and Islamist militant groups sponsoring terrorism in the region.
In a series of Twitter posts Tuesday, the president seemed to take credit for the Saudi-led move to isolate Qatar -- which hosts the largest U.S. military base in the Middle East.
In his tweets, President Trump referred to his speech in Riyadh last month in which he called on Muslim leaders to take a stand against radical Islamist groups.