On July 13, President Donald Trump told reporters in the Oval Office that the U.S. is protecting a “very rich” region, so it deserves compensation from the countries involved.
“Yeah, I want to get compensated, because we’re protecting a very rich part of the world, and we’re spending money, so we’ll get paid for that protection,” he said. He specifically called out Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the UAE, Kuwait, and Bahrain, adding that there are others too.
Video from the scene shows Trump also named Israel.
He went on to say the U.S. doesn’t “need” these countries because “we have more oil than any other country in the world.” So, he argued, America’s actions in the Middle East are “mainly to protect our allies.”
Trump says it’s time to pay “protection fees,” naming Israel and five Gulf states—screenshot from the video.
Earlier that day, Trump posted online that the U.S. would become the “guardian of the Strait of Hormuz” starting immediately, charging a 20% fee on all goods transported through there to “cover the costs of keeping this volatile region safe and stable.” He said the setup and deployment would start right away.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi fired back at Trump’s statement, claiming Iran is the real “guardian” of the strait and deserves the compensation.
Araghchi wrote on social media: “The U.S. president is right. Whoever provides security for cargo ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz should get paid for it. But Iran has always been the guardian of this strait, and always will be.” He added that Iran would charge “fairly,” and that 20% is way too high.