WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump on Monday said other countries should protect their own Gulf oil shipments, and defined US aims regarding Iran as "No Nuclear Weapons and No Further Sponsoring of Terror."

In a pair of tweets, Trump said the US did not even need to be in the Gulf because it had become the world's largest energy producer.

"So why are we protecting the shipping lanes for other countries (many years) for zero compensation. All of these countries should be protecting their own ships on what has always been a dangerous journey," he wrote.

As for Tehran, he said, "The U.S. request for Iran is very simple - No Nuclear Weapons and No Further Sponsoring of Terror!" —AFP