Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei criticized Secretary of State Marco Rubio and President Donald Trump on Sunday after Rubio accused Tehran of attacking commercial vessels in the Gulf region, pointing to Trump’s earlier remarks likening U.S. naval actions to piracy.
Iran Says Trump Boasted About Seizing Ships
In a post on the social media platform X, Baqaei slammed Rubio for equating Iran with the “pirates of the Caribbean,” while also saying that vessel strikes have not been seen since World War II.
Baqaei then pointed to comments purportedly made by Trump in May this year. “We’re like PIRATES. We’re sort of like PIRATES,” he quoted Trump in his post.
“Perhaps the president won’t be too pleased to learn that his secretary of state has so quickly forgotten his own proud claim of being like pirates,” the Foreign Ministry spokesperson said.
Ship Attacks Escalate in the Middle East
Recently, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations Center (UKMTO) released a report, saying that a ship had been targeted in the Gulf of Oman, beyond the Strait of Hormuz.
According to Obsidian Risk Advisors‘ Managing Principal Brett Erickson, this signalled that Iran was “taking it easy” on Trump and that it had capabilities to strike ships beyond the Strait of Hormuz.
Notably, Iran’s Persian Gulf and Strait Authority said it had added 122 vessels to its “non-compliance list” for the Strait of Hormuz, citing violations of its transit requirements.
Oil is Moving Out of the Middle East
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, in a post on X, reiterated that oil was moving out of the Middle East despite Iran’s threats to thwart energy flows out of the region. Bessent said that roughly 18 to 19 million barrels of oil per day were moving out of the region through the end of September 2026.
The West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures contracts ending in December 2026 declined 1.97% to $101.24 at press time. Brent futures contracts ending in December also slipped 1.56% to $109.96 at press time.
Amid falling crude oil prices, the United States Oil Fund (NYSE:USO) slipped nearly 2% to $166.2 during the overnight trading session. The ProShares Ultra Bloomberg Crude Oil (NYSE:UCO) ETF declined 2.71% to $64.32.
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