U.S. President Donald Trump said on Friday that the U.S. Navy is acting "like pirates" while carrying out Washington's naval blockade of Iranian ports during the U.S. and Israeli war against Iran, UNN reports, citing Reuters.
Details
Trump made these comments while describing the seizure of a vessel by American forces a few days ago.
"We seized the ship, we seized the cargo, we seized the oil. It's a very lucrative business," Trump said Friday night. "We're like pirates. We're a little bit like pirates, but we're not playing games."
Some of Tehran's vessels have been seized by the U.S. after leaving Iranian ports, along with container ships and sanctioned Iranian tankers in Asian waters.
Since the start of the war, Iran has been blocking many vessels passing through the Strait of Hormuz, except for its own. Trump has imposed a separate blockade of Iranian ports.
Trump, who constantly changes the timeline and objectives of the war, which remains unpopular in the U.S., has faced widespread condemnation for his comments regarding the conflict, including a threat to destroy the entire Iranian civilization last month.
As a reminder
The U.S. estimates that Iran has lost approximately $4.8 billion in oil revenue as a result of the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz.