Iran calls Trump's piracy boast 'direct admission' of criminal blockade

Iran has reacted to US President Donald Trump’s boasting about the US Navy’s acting “like pirates” in carrying out Washington’s illegal naval blockade of Iranian vessels and ports.

“The President of the United States has openly described the unlawful seizure of Iranian vessels as ‘piracy,’ brazenly boasting that ‘we act like pirates,'” Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei wrote in a post on X on Saturday.

“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.”

Trump ordered the blockade on April 13 after announcing a two-week ceasefire in unprovoked attacks against Iran.

After the expiry of the ceasefire, he announced continuation of the blockade in violations of its terms.

The blockade has witnessed American forces seize several Iranian vessels alongside cargos, crewmembers, and their families.

Tehran has, meanwhile, officially protested to the United Nations over the blockade, while underlining that it reserves all rights to take due defensive action in reprisal.