France, March 16 -- Trump said on Sunday that countries that rely heavily on oil from the Gulf should take responsibility for protecting the Strait of Hormuz, through which about 20 percent of the world's seaborne oil trade and 25 percent of its liquefied natural gas pass.

"I'm demanding that these countries come in and protect their own territory because it is their territory," Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One. "It's the place from which they get their energy."

'If the Strait of Hormuz were to remain closed, we would face a major crisis'

Although some Iranian vessels and a few from other countries have been able to pass through the Strait, the passage has been largely closed to most tanker traffic since the United States and ...