President Donald Trump compared the U.S. Navy to pirates when describing how it was carrying out his orders to blockade Iranian ports. “We took over the ship, we took over the cargo, we took over the oil. It’s a very ⁠profitable business,” Trump said on ⁠Friday evening, recounting a seizure of an Iranian ship. “We’re sort of like pirates, but we are not playing games.” The U.S. began a naval blockade of Iranian ports last month following the breakdown of peace talks between the two sides, ostensibly in response to Iran’s closure of the Strait of Hormuz.

The energy transit route saw one-fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas travel through it before the U.S. and Israel launched a surprise attack on Iran on Feb. 28, beginning a conflict that has killed thousands of civilians. In response to the attack, Iran blocked all maritime traffic passing through the Strait. It loosened that blockade in recent weeks, allowing allies and other non-combatant nations to pass through after paying a toll. The U.S. blockade applies to Iranian and any other vessels that have paid a toll to Iran, according to Trump.