US President Donald Trump has acknowledged that American military forces acted 'like pirates' in the seizure of Iranian oil tankers. Speaking before the local Forum Club in West Palm Beach, Florida, Trump said: 'We took the ships, we took the cargo. We took the oil. This is a very profitable business. Who would have thought we would do that? We're like pirates.' He stressed: 'We're sort of like pirates, but we don't play games.'
The remarks refer to the US military seizure of two Iranian oil tankers named Majestic and Tifani, carrying a combined total of 3.8 million barrels of oil. Earlier, in a letter to the UN Security Council, Iran's Permanent Representative to the UN, Amir Saeid Iravani, accused the US of 'state piracy' after the confiscation of two Iranian commercial vessels and the theft of 3.8 million barrels of oil. Iran called the US action a serious violation of the UN Charter and urged the Security Council to act. Tehran also stated it reserved the right to respond to these actions under international law.
