Trump says US Navy acting 'like pirates' to carry out naval blockade of Iranian ports

US President Donald Trump told reporters on Friday that the US Navy was behaving like "pirates" in executing the naval blockade by Washington of Iranian ports during the US and Israel's war on Iran.

Trump made this statement while explaining the capture by the US military of a ship a few days earlier.

"I took control of the ship, I took control of the cargo, I took control of the oil. It is a lucrative enterprise," Trump stated at a press conference on Friday night. "We are like pirates. We are almost like pirates, but we are not joking."

Some of the ships of Tehran have been captured by the US military after leaving the ports of Iran, including sanctioned container ships and Iranian tankers in Asia.

Iran has virtually sealed off any ships navigating through the Strait of Hormuz except for its own ships since the outbreak of the conflict. President Trump has instituted a blockade of Iranian ports separately.

The US and Israel launched their attack on Iran on February 28. In response, Iran launched its counter-attack on Israel and the Gulf countries where the US maintains its bases. US-Israeli attacks on Iran and Israeli bombardment of Lebanon