LIVE: Trump wins US election

Kuwait Emir Sheikh al-Sabah sent his congratulations to Trump and “expressed hopes that Kuwait and the US will continue their strong historic relations, working together for a brighter future for the world.”

Before winning the presidency, Trump controversially said last April that Kuwait never paid the US back for expelling Saddam Hussein’s forces from their country in 1991.

"If you look at these nations, they wouldn't be there except for us,” he said referring the wealthy Gulf states. “You take a look at Kuwait. I mean, we handed Kuwait back to the people that right now essentially own Kuwait, because it's really ownership more than anything else. We handed it back. They never paid us."

As Trump inches closer to clinching the presidency, leaders from around the world have reacted in shock and support.

A senior member of German Chancellor Angela Merkel's Christian Democrat Party said "we no idea what Trump would do as president," adding that his presidency would create an uncertain geopolitical situation, according Reuters.

And French far-right politician Marine Le Pen congratulated Trump. She has endorsed the billionaire businessman.

South Korean Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se said on Wednesday that he believed Donald Trump would maintain the current US policy of pressuring North Korea over its nuclear and missile tests, if he wins the presidential election.

Commenting on Donald Trump's victory, Knesset MP Jamal Zahalka, representing the Balad Party on the Joint List, told MEE:

"Trump's victory is bad news for all opponents of racism and supporters of democracy, human rights and social justice.

"It is enough to see the happiness of Netanyahu and those around him with Trump's victory. This is the clearest evidence of Trump's political leanings and his allegiance to the camp of extremism that is opposed to human rights and the rights of the people," he added

"The far-right camp, and the dominance of the logic of strength and the demagogic populism of the power of money - which seems to be a local phenomenon from one country to another - has today become a global tyrannical force. The victory of Trump as president of the United States solidifies this camp and the position of Putin in Russia and Netanyahu in Israel as well as the opportunity of Jean-Marie le Pen [winning] in France," said Zahalka.

"With regards to the Palestinian cause we hope that Trump's victory will be a catalyst for a change in the Palestinian resistance strategies whereby there is an end to waiting for American relief. Trump's words, and those around him, are very clear because he is not just with Israel but specifically with all audacity and arrogance with the Israeli far-right, represented by Netanyahu, Trump's friend and twin.”

Saudi King Salman expressed hope on Wednesday that US president-elect Donald Trump would bring stability to the Middle East.

"We wish your excellency success in your mission to achieve security and stability in the Middle East and worldwide," Salman said in a message of congratulations reported by the official Saudi Press Agency.

He praised the relations which are "historic and tight between the two friendly countries, that all parties aspire to develop and reinforce".

The United States and Saudi Arabia have a decades-old relationship based on the exchange of American security for Saudi oil.

But ties between Riyadh and Washington became increasingly frayed during the eight-year Democratic administration of President Barack Obama.

Saudi leaders felt Obama was reluctant to get involved in the civil war in Syria and other regional conflicts.

They also worried that he was tilting towards their regional rival, Shia Iran, which is on the opposing side to Sunni-dominated Saudi Arabia in the wars in Syria and Yemen.

Washington and other major powers reached an agreement, which took effect in January, to lift international sanctions on Iran in exchange for guarantees that it would not pursue a nuclear weapons capability.

Supporters of Hillary Clinton see the election results coming as their candidate lost out to Donald Trump overnight (Reuters)

French President Francois Hollande said that Donald Trump's stunning victory in US presidential elections "opens a period of uncertainty."

In a televised address, he also said that "this context calls for a united Europe, capable of making itself heard and of promoting policies wherever its interests or its values are challenged."

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi was the first leader from the Arab world to congratulate Donald Trump on Wednesday and said he hoped the US president-elect would "pump new life" into Egyptian-American relations.

A statement from the Egyptian presidency emphasised the “special, strategic relationship” between Egypt and the United States that it said had lasted for decades.

“The Arab Republic of Egypt is looking to see Donald Trump’s presidency pump new life into the course of Egyptian-American relations, and more cooperation and coordination that will benefit both the Egyptian and American peoples, and promote peace and stability and development in the Middle East region, especially in the face of the huge challenges that it faces,” the statement read.

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Israel's right-wing education minister and leader of the Jewish Home party Naftali Bennett congratulated Donald Trump on his win and said that "the era of a Palestinian state is over," CNN reports.

In a statement, Bennett said: “We thank Hillary Clinton for her friendship with Israel. We are sure the special relationship between the United States and Israel will continue, and even grow stronger. Trump's victory is an opportunity for Israel to immediately retract the notion of a Palestinian state in the centre of the country, which would hurt our security and just cause. This is the position of the president-elect, as written in his platform, and it should be our policy, plain and simple. The era of a Palestinian state is over."

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has urged Donald Trump to stick to the terms of the 2015 nuclear deal which saw sanctions against the country lifted.

READ MORE: Iran's Zarif urges Trump to stick to nuclear deal

Trump had vowed to tear up the deal if elected during his campaign, prompting Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei to say that he would happily burn the agreement if Trump did so.

But some in Tehran said they were hopeful that Trump as president would act differently to Trump the candidate, with some analysts suggesting that Tehran actually favoured him because they believed he would be easier to deal with than Clinton.

Writing for Middle East Eye, analyst Mahan Abedin said: "In reality, the current geopolitical dynamics make the staunchly nationalist and isolationist Donald Trump the clear choice for Iranian leaders.

"At an ideological level, the Islamic Republic has no issues with a nationalist USA enjoying its own culture. Instead, it is America’s overbearing foreign policy and specifically its over-reach and shameless double standards in the Middle East, which inform Iranian anti-Americanism."

Yossi Melman, Middle East Eye columnist, says that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is a "wizard" who was the first to spot the anti-establishment revolt that has now swept Donald Trump to power.

Turkish Prime Minister Benali Yildirim has congratulated Donald Trump on his victory and used the opportunity to call once again for Washington to extradite Fetullah Gulen, the exiled cleric who Ankara accuses of orchestrating the 15 July failed coup.

"An opportunity has been created for the new president to take our traditional friendly relations even further forward by taking into consideration Turkey’s sensitivities in its fight against terror and by prioritising regional peace and stability," said Yildirim.

Middle East Eye's Suraj Sharma reports from Istanbul on how officials in pro-government circles in Ankara have been willing a Trump victory for months.

Canada's immigration website is reported to have crashed because of a surge in people looking to emigrate from the US, the Independent website reports.

Canada also appeared to be reacting to Trump's victory in a tweet posted early on Wednesday on the country's official Twitter feed which said that immigrants to Canada were welcome to "bring their cultural traditions with them":

This is how the front of the New York Times website looks right now...

And CNN...

Fox News...

And this is the Wednesday's New York Post front page...

Sajid Tarar, the founder of Muslim Americans for Trump, has told the BBC that Trump's victory is a defeat for the "crooked system" of American politics.

"This was against the system, the crooked system and I am glad it has been defeated today," said Tarar.

Asked how Trump could unite the nation after a bitter and divisive campaign, Tarar said: "He is going to make the cities safe, he is going to bring jobs back. Society is going to heal itself automatically."