US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that a number of Persian Gulf countries had pledged to invest in the United States in exchange for Washington ensuring freedom of navigation through the Strait of Hormuz.

“The United States will continue to do everything necessary to protect international shipping, but other countries need to step up and provide either resources or funding to help bear this burden. It is not America’s job to protect shipping for the entire planet forever. Commitments have already been made for some such investments, and there are others that will make commitments in the future,” he told reporters.

The head of US diplomacy added that countries in the region “need to be able to generate profits in order to make such investments, and they will not be able to do that if their oil and gas do not reach the market.”