In a message posted on his X account on Saturday night, Esmaeil Baqaei said Trump had openly characterized the unlawful seizure of Iranian vessels as “piracy,” describing the remark as a direct acknowledgment of actions violating international maritime law.
“The President of the United States has openly described the unlawful seizure of Iranian vessels as ‘piracy,’ brazenly boasting that ‘we act like pirates’,” Baqaei said.
“This was no verbal slip. It was a direct and damning admission of the criminal nature of their actions against international maritime navigation,” he added.
“The international community, UN Member States, and the UN Secretary-General must firmly reject any normalization of such blatant violations of international law,” the Iranian spokesman stated.
His comments came after Trump said the US navy acted “like pirates” as he described an operation seizing a ship amid the blockade of Iranian ports.
“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,” said Trump at a rally in Florida on Friday.
“We’re like pirates,” he added to cheers from the crowd. “We’re sort of like pirates. But we’re not playing games.”