Donald Trump compares the US Navy to “pirates” after the capture of a ship loaded with oil in the Strait of Hormuz: “It's a profitable business”
American President Donald Trump said on Friday that the American military acted “like pirates” during a naval operation aimed at capturing a ship, as part of the American blockade of Iranian ports in the Strait of Hormuz, writes AFP, according to News.ro.
“We landed on the ship and took control. We took control of the cargo, we took control of the oil. It's a very profitable business,” President Trump said at a rally in Florida.
“We're like pirates,” he added, to applause from the crowd. “We are, in a way, like pirates. But we are not kidding,” he added.
The comparison made by Trump between the American navy and piracy, illegal from the point of view of international law, comes in the context in which Iran intends to levy taxes on ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz.
Tehran closed this sea route, a strategic passage through which a fifth of the world's consumed hydrocarbons previously transited, after the start of the American-Israeli attacks against Iran on February 28.
President Trump said on Friday that he was “not happy” with a new offer by Iran to resume peace talks with the United States, renewing his threat to “destroy” the Islamic Republic if diplomacy failed.
On Thursday, the price of oil rose again, with a barrel of Brent registering an increase of 7.5% and surpassing the threshold of 126 dollars in the Asian markets, in a context where the market was gripped by panic at the prospect of a prolonged blockade of the Strait of Hormuz and possible military options analyzed in Washington.
