​President Trump questioned why the United States is protecting oil shipping lanes in the Strait of Hormuz and suggested other countries should be picking up the tab for securing their vessels.​

​”China gets 91% of its Oil from the Straight, Japan 62%, & many other countries likewise. So why are we protecting the shipping lanes for other countries (many years) for zero compensation​,” Trump said in two tweets about the matter on Monday, misspelling strait. “All of these countries should be protecting their own ships on what has always been​ a dangerous journey.​”

​In the other posting, he reiterated his demand that Iran not be allowed to obtain a nuclear weapon.

​”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!” Trump said.

In the past month, the Trump administration has deployed the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier strike group, B-52 bombers, jet fighters and Patriot anti-missile batteries to Qatar to counter Iran’s aggressive behavior in the region.

It also sent 1,000 more troops to the region for “defensive purposes.”

The US accused Iran of attacking two oil tankers belonging to Japan and Norway in the Gulf of Oman near the Strait of Hormuz.

Tensions between Washington and Tehran were ratcheted up even further last week when Iran shot down a US unmanned surveillance drone, which it said entered Iranian airspace.

The US said it was flying in international airspace.

On Thursday, Trump called off at the last minute a military strike against Iran in retaliation for downing the drone.