‘We don’t even need to be there’: Trump complains the U.S. gets ‘zero compensation’ for the cost protecting Middle East shipping lanes just days after stepping back from planned military attack on Iran
- The president tweeted about the burden of protecting the Strait of Hormuz
- He called off an attack on Iranian sites after the downing of a U.S. drone
- A handful of oil tankers have come under attack
- He complaint that China and Japan get much of their oil shipped through the strait
- He unloaded days before a trip to Asia to visit allies Japan and South Korea
- The U.S. invested trillions in the Iraq war and is propping up the Iraqi government, while providing security protection for Gulf allies
- His statements come as the U.S. prepares to slap new sanctions on Iran
President Donald Trump complained about the cost burden of protecting Middle East shipping lanes Monday – just days after pulling back from a military strike on Iran.
He also claimed the U.S. didn’t even ‘need to be there’ due to increases in domestic energy production, although the U.S. still imports billions worth of crude.
Trump vented about the high costs of ensuring the flow of goods and service through the Strait of Hormuz, a critical shipping corridor that allows China, Japan, and other industrial powers access to critical oil resources.
It is inside this narrow straight that the Pentagon says Iran took out a U.S. drone costing $150 million, as a U.S. carrier group and other resources patrol the region.
In this Thursday, June 13, 2019 file photo, an oil tanker is on fire in the sea of Oman. A series of attacks on oil tankers near the Persian Gulf has ratcheted up tensions between the U.S. and Iran — and raised fears over the safety of one of Asia’s most vital energy trade routes, where about a fifth of the world’s oil passes through its narrowest at the Strait of Hormuz
‘China gets 91% of its Oil from the Straight, Japan 62%, & many other countries likewise,’ Trump wrote Monday.
‘So why are we protecting the shipping lanes for other countries (many years) for zero compensation,’ he asked, without using a question mark.
‘All of these countries should be protecting their own ships on what has always been…a dangerous journey,’ Trump wrote.
‘We don’t even need to be there in that the U.S. has just become (by far) the largest producer of Energy anywhere in the world! The U.S. request for Iran is very simple – No Nuclear Weapons and No Further Sponsoring of Terror!’ he wrote.
‘So why are we protecting the shipping lanes for other countries (many years) for zero compensation,’ President Trump asked Monday on Twitter, without using a question mark
This undated US Air Force file photo released on June 20, 2019 shows a photo of a RQ-4 Global Hawk unmanned surveillance and reconnaissance aircraft. The United States launched cyber attacks against Iranian missile control systems and a spy network after Tehran downed an American surveillance drone, according to media reports
Trump complained about the cost of protecting the Strait of Hormuz Monday
The president also questioned why the U.S. was there
The purported wreckage of the American drone is seen displayed by the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) in Tehran, Iran June 21, 2019
A picture taken during a guided tour by the US Navy (NAVCENT) shows the Japanese oil tanker Kokuka Courageous off the port of the Gulf emirate of Fujairah on June 19, 2019
Trump fired off the tweet as Secretary of State Mike Pompeo was in Saudi Arabia to hold talks with allies. His statements come as the U.S. prepares to slap new sanctions on Iran.
Among the ships that have come under attack in tense period in the region in recent weeks was a Saudi vessel.
The region’s oil also flows to India, another key U.S. ally. The Panama-listed Japanese owned tanker Kokuka also came under attack. Another ship that came under fire was shipping Saudi methanol to Singapore.
Trump stepped back from a military attack that he said was just 30 minutes away from happening. Iran is claiming it foiled a U.S. launched cyber attack carried out Thursday in retaliation for the downing of the U.S. spy drone.
In April Trump vetoed a congressional resolution to end U.S. support for the Saudi-led war in Yemen.