Trump Calls on Gulf Nations to Pay US for Regional Security, Defends Tough Stance on Iran

Washington, July 2026 : US President Donald Trump has urged wealthy Gulf nations to reimburse the United States for providing security in the Middle East, arguing that Washington continues to shoulder the financial and military burden of protecting key allies despite no longer relying heavily on the region for its energy needs.

Speaking to reporters at the White House, Trump said the United States has invested enormous resources in maintaining stability across the Gulf and believes countries benefiting from American military protection should contribute more toward those efforts.

“I want to be reimbursed because we’re protecting a very rich portion of the world,” Trump said, stressing that the US has been safeguarding the security interests of several Gulf nations for decades.

The President identified Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Qatar, Bahrain and Kuwait among the countries that benefit from the American military presence and security umbrella in the region.

“You look at the five countries—you have Saudi Arabia, UAE, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait and others—and they will do very well,” Trump said, adding that these nations have prospered under the protection provided by the United States.

Trump maintained that while the United States no longer depends on Middle Eastern oil to the extent it once did, it continues to play a crucial role in ensuring regional stability because of its strategic alliances.

“We don’t need it, but we need it from the standpoint of protecting allies, including Israel, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the UAE,” he said.

His remarks came as the Trump administration intensified pressure on Iran through renewed military operations and stricter economic measures. The President announced that Washington would reinstate what he described as a blockade targeting Iran while allowing other countries to continue using regional shipping routes without restrictions.

“We’re putting the blockade back, and it’s a blockade not for anybody but Iran,” Trump said.

He explained that the new measures were intended to isolate Tehran economically by restricting trade involving Iran while ensuring that commercial shipping by other countries could continue uninterrupted.

“Anybody doing business with Iran can’t go through. Everyone else will be able to go through,” he said.

Trump argued that the economic blockade had proved to be one of the most effective tools against Iran, even more impactful than military strikes in some cases.

“The blockade was probably more effective even than hitting them. But I think the combination is the thing that really does it,” he remarked.

Defending months of military operations against Tehran, Trump claimed that American forces had significantly degraded Iran’s conventional military capabilities, including its naval, air and missile assets.

“We knocked out their Navy in a period of one month. We knocked out their air force. Their air force is nonexistent,” he said, adding that Iran’s missile and drone capabilities had also suffered severe damage.

Reiterating his administration’s primary objective, Trump made it clear that Washington would continue to use both military and economic pressure to prevent Tehran from developing nuclear weapons.

“Iran will not have a nuclear weapon,” the President declared, reaffirming the US commitment to countering Iran’s nuclear ambitions while strengthening security across the Gulf region.

(The content of this article is sourced from a news agency and has not been edited by the Mavericknews30 team.)