Trump Compares US Navy to Pirates in Iran Blockade

The Lead

United States President Donald Trump says the US Navy is acting 'like pirates' as he described an operation about seizing a ship amid the blockade of Iranian ports.

Trump's Remarks on US Navy Operations

“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,” Trump said 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.”

The Background of US-Iran Tensions

After the US and Israel attacked Iran on February ‌28, ⁠Tehran retaliated with strikes on Israel and the Gulf states that host US bases.

Iran also blocked the Strait of Hormuz, a vital waterway through which 20 percent of global oil and gas passes.

The Current Status of Negotiations

A ceasefire between the US and Iran came into effect on April 8, but days later, Trump imposed a blockade of Iranian ports and the Strait of Hormuz on April 13, as negotiations to end the war, mediated by Pakistan, continue.

Trump said on Friday he was “not satisfied” with Iran’s latest peace proposal to end the war.

The International Reaction

Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said in a post on X that the Americans have an “undeniable right and the solemn duty” to demand accountability from the Trump administration over the US-Israel “war of choice” on Iran.

The war is “a clear, unprovoked act of aggression”, and the US public should challenge the government for “waging this illegal war against the nation of Iran and for all the atrocities perpetrated”, Baghaei said.

The Future Outlook

Trump faced a May 1 deadline under the 1973 War Powers Resolution to secure authorisation of the war on Iran from the US Congress.

Douglas Silliman, a former US ambassador to Kuwait and Iraq, told Al Jazeera Trump wants to undermine the legal authority of Congress to weigh in at all on the war.