Trump threatens to boycott Saudi oil if elected president

The Republican suggested the kingdom would lose out on business with the US if it does not provide soldiers to help fight Islamic State militants.

The comments were made in an interview on foreign policy published by the New York Times, where Trump covered issues surrounding oil, nuclear weapons and the Israel-Palestine issue.

"The reason we're in the Middle East is for oil, and all of a sudden we're finding out that there's less reason to be there now," Trump said, adding that the United States provides its allies with protection "free of charge".

"We're not being reimbursed for the kind of tremendous service that we’re performing by protecting various countries. Now Saudi Arabia's one of them.  

"If Saudi Arabia was without the cloak of American protection, I don’t think it would be around," he said.

"The reason we're in the Middle East is for oil, and all of a sudden we're finding out that there's less reason to be there now," Trump said

The notorious business man led with an "American First" policy regarding foreign affairs and suggested the US has been "disrespected, mocked and ripped off for many, many years by people that were smarter, shrewder and tougher.

"So America first, yes, we will not be ripped off anymore. We’re going to be friendly with everybody, but we’re not going to be taken advantage of by anybody," he said.

The Republican front-runner has caused international uproar in recent months as he continued to spew offensive and racist comments towards Mexicans, Muslims and refugees fleeing poverty and war.

A recent British research group warned that a Donald Trump presidency is as dangerous to global security as the Islamic State group.

In the latest Global Risk assessment, the Economist Intelligence Unit ranked victory for the Republican frontrunner at 12, alongside the threat of the Islamic State group (IS).