Shortly after the (alleged Iranian) drone attack, President Donald Trump questioned the US’ presence in the region, and called on China, Japan, and other countries to protect their own shipspassing through the Strait of Hormuz.
According to BusinessInsider.com, Trump noted that much of China and Japan’s oil flow through the strait, and added: “So why are we protecting the shipping lanes for other countries (many years) for zero compensation.”
“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 president tweeted.
While a large proportion — 76% — of oil flowing through the chokepoint does end up in Asian countries, the US still imports more than 30 million barrels of oil a month from countries in the Middle East, Business Insider’s Alex Lockie reported, citing the EIA.
That’s about $1.7 billion worth of oil, and 10% of the US’s total oil imports per month.
