U.S. President Donald Trump said the U.S. Navy behaved “like pirates” in its blockade of Iranian ports and seizure of an Iranian vessel earlier this week.
“We took over the ship, we took over the cargo, we took over the oil. It’s a very profitable business,” Trump said at an event in Florida on Friday. “We’re like pirates. We’re sort of like pirates, but we are not playing games.”
Tension between Washington and Tehran is ratcheting higher amid unsuccessful negotiations to permanently end the war started by the U.S. and Israel in late February.
A senior Iranian military official said on Saturday that a return to war was “likely,” according to the semi-official Iranian news agency Fars. “U.S. officials’ actions and statements are largely media-oriented, aimed first at preventing a drop in oil prices and second at escaping the predicament they have created for themselves,” Mohammad Jafar Asadi said.
The remarks came as the U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control warned shipping companies they could face sanctions for paying tolls to Iran to safely pass through the Strait of Hormuz.