Iran says Trump’s ‘pirates’ remark is ‘damning’ admission of US actions at sea

Iran said late Saturday that remarks by President Donald Trump likening US naval operations to “pirates” amount to a “damning” admission of Washington’s actions at sea.

Foreign Ministry spokesperson Ismail Baqai said the US president openly described what Tehran considers unlawful seizures of Iranian vessels.

“The President of the United States has openly described the unlawful seizure of Iranian vessels as ‘piracy,’ brazenly boasting that ‘we act like pirates,'” Baqai wrote on US social media company X. “This was no verbal slip. It was a direct and damning admission of the criminal nature of their actions against international maritime navigation.”

Baqai urged the world to firmly reject what he described as attempts to normalize the conduct.

“The international community, UN Member States, and the UN Secretary-General must firmly reject any normalization of such blatant violations of international law,” he said.

The remarks came after Trump said Friday that US naval forces had seized a vessel, its cargo and oil.

“We … land on top of it and we took over the ship. We took over the cargo, took over the oil. It’s a very profitable business,” he said.

“We’re like pirates,” he said. “We’re sort of like pirates. But we’re not playing games.”