US President Donald Trump said on Friday that the US Navy was acting “like pirates” while carrying out Washington’s naval blockade of Iranian ports during the US and Israel’s war against Iran.
Trump made the remarks as he described the seizure of a ship by US forces a few days earlier.
“We took over the ship, we took over the cargo, we took over the oil. It’s a very profitable business,” Trump said in his Friday evening comments. “We’re like pirates. We’re sort of like pirates, but we are not playing games.”
According to reports, some Iranian vessels have been intercepted by US forces after leaving Iranian ports, along with sanctioned container ships and Iranian tankers operating in Asian waters.
Iran has reportedly blocked nearly all shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, except for its own vessels, since the start of the war. Trump has also imposed a separate blockade on Iranian ports.
The US and Israel launched attacks on Iran on February 28. Iran responded with strikes on Israel and Gulf states hosting US military bases. The ongoing exchanges, including US-Israeli strikes on Iran and Israeli attacks in Lebanon, have resulted in thousands of civilian deaths and the displacement of millions.
The conflict has driven up global oil prices and disrupted shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, a key chokepoint for around 20% of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas supplies.
Trump, who has offered shifting timelines and objectives for the war that remains unpopular in the United States, has faced widespread criticism over his statements on the conflict, including a previous threat to destroy Iran’s “entire civilisation.”
Last month, several US experts also stated that American strikes on Iran could amount to war crimes, particularly after Trump threatened to target civilian infrastructure and following the so-called “triple-tap” strike on a girls’ school in Minab, Iran.