Trump says wealthy Gulf nations should reimburse US for regional security costs

US President Donald Trump has said wealthy Gulf nations should reimburse the United States for protecting one of the worlds most strategically important regions arguing that Washington is bearing the cost of defending allies despite no longer depending on Middle Eastern oilSpeaking to reporters at the White House Trump said countries benefiting from US military operations should help finance those efforts I want to be reimbursed because were protecting a very rich portion of the worldTrump said the United States was safeguarding key regional partners while maintaining security in the Gulf Were protecting by the countries that were helpingHe named Saudi Arabia the United Arab Emirates Qatar Bahrain and Kuwait among countries benefiting from American military protectionFor instance you look at the five countries you have Saudi Arabia you have UAE you have Qatar or Qatar as I always say You have Qatar Bahrain You have Kuwait and you have others and they will do very wellTrump argued that the United States was no longer dependent on energy supplies from the regionWe dont need it but we need it from the standpoint of protecting allies etc etc including Israel including Saudi Arabia including Qatar including UAEHis comments came as he announced renewed military operations against Iran and said the United States would restore a blockade targeting TehranWere putting the blockade back and its a blockade not for anybody but IranTrump said the measure would prevent trade with Iran while allowing commercial shipping by other countriesAnybody doing business with Iran cant go through Everyone else will be able to go throughHe argued that the blockade had proven highly effectiveThe blockade was probably more effective even than hitting them But I think the combination is the thing that that really does itThe President also defended months of military operations against Iran claiming they had dramatically weakened Tehrans armed forcesWe knocked out their Navy in a period of one month We knocked out their air force Their air force is nonexistentHe added that US operations had also degraded Irans missile and drone capabilitiesTrump reiterated that the administrations objective remained unchangedIran will not have a nuclear weaponThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever