Tehran: US president Donald Trump’s “We’re like pirates” remark has come under severe criticism from Iran’s foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei.
He strongly condemned the remark on Sunday and accused Washington of normalising “piracy” at sea, with the seizure of Iranian vessels.
Baghaei said that the US president has “openly described the unlawful seizure of Iranian vessels as ‘piracy’, brazenly boasting that ‘we act like pirates'”, adding that this was “no verbal slip” but “a direct and damning admission of the criminal nature of their actions against international maritime navigation”, Baghaei posted on X.
“The President of the United States has openly described the unlawful seizure of Iranian vessels as “piracy,” brazenly boasting that “we act like pirates.” This was no verbal slip. It was a direct and damning admission of the criminal nature of their actions against international… – Esmaeil Baqhaei (@IRIMFA_SPOX) May 2, 2026).
He further called on the international community, United Nations member states, and the UN secretary-general, Antonio Guterres, to “firmly reject any normalisation of such blatant violations of international law”, as reported by ANI.
Trump made the remark while speaking at Florida on Saturday. Trump offered a detailed and controversial account of US maritime enforcement operations, using blunt language and
striking imagery to describe the seizure of vessels and oil cargoes.
Trump described a military-style interception at sea, recounting how operatives ordered a vessel to surrender before disabling it.
“‘Turn your ship around! Evacuate your engine room immediately!’ and you see all these guys running out of there,” he said, describing the incident.
“Now they’re five miles away, in one shot into the engine room, blew up the engine room, the ship stopped. The ship… they used tugboats, and then we landed on top of it. On top of everything else, we then 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,” the US president added.
“Who would have thought we’d be doing that? We’re like pirates. We’re sort of like pirates”, Trump said, going on to frame the operations as part of a broader confrontation with Iran, saying, “But we’re not playing games because you know, for 47 years Iran has been pushing everybody around. They’re the bully.”
Trump also made critical remarks about Iran’s internal structure and leadership, claiming uncertainty over who US officials are dealing with in Tehran.
“They have no radar, they have no leaders, actually their leaders are all gone too,” he said.
“It’s part of our problem, we don’t know who the hell we’re dealing with. They call up ‘This is Mohammed so-and-so’ and I say ‘Are you a leader? We’re looking, we’re looking for a leader.’ It’s the only country in the world nobody wants to be a leader,” he added.
The United States has, meanwhile, redirected 48 vessels in the Persian Gulf, particularly in the Strait of Hormuz, over the past 20 days amid ongoing enforcement actions related to restrictions on Iranian maritime assets by the US Navy.