TEHRAN – Iran has roundly condemned the seizure of an oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela by U.S. forces.

Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Esmail Baqaei denounced the move as a clear example of “state piracy.”

“The United States’ detention and seizure of trade vessels belonging to other countries amounts to flagrant disregard for international law and is a blatant violation of principles ruling international maritime security and safety,” the spokesperson said.

U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday admitted that U.S. forces had taken control of an oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela, a move which risks a sharp escalation in tensions with Venezuela.

"We have just seized a tanker on the coast of Venezuela - a large tanker, very large, the largest one ever seized actually," Trump told reporters at the White House.

Elsewhere in his remarks, Baqaei underlined that referring to U.S. local laws and the country’s illegal sanctions to justify the seizure cannot, by any means, change the illegal and criminal nature of this “armed piracy.”

The spokesperson warned against the repercussions that the perpetuation of such bullying behavior could have for international peace, security and trade, saying al governments and competent international bodies have a responsibility to oppose such illegal moves and hold the United States to task.

Meanwhile, the Iranian embassy in Caracas also dismissed the seizure of the oil as “piracy in the Caribbean Sea” and a gross violation of international laws and regulations.

In a statement on Thursday, the embassy strongly condemned the US move as contravening fundamental international principles and regulations.

"The illegal move by the U.S. government to seize a Venezuelan oil tanker in the Caribbean Sea without any justified or legal reason constitutes a blatant violation of international laws and regulations, including the inviolable principle of freedom of the seas and navigation,” it said.

“’Piracy in the Caribbean Sea' is the most appropriate title for this unlawful and unjustified move by the U.S., which seeks to achieve its goals by resorting to illegitimate measures, violation of national sovereignty, infringement of others’ rights, and the promotion of anarchism,” it added.

The Iranian embassy expressed solidarity with the Venezuelan government and people in defending their national sovereignty and absolute rights.

In the meantime, the Venezuelan government also said in a statement that the US has been engaged in an “international act of piracy.”

It added, “Under these circumstances, the true reasons for the prolonged aggression against Venezuela have finally been revealed… It has always been about our natural resources, our oil, our energy, the resources that belong exclusively to the Venezuelan people.”

This comes amid a sharp increase in U.S. military deployments across the Caribbean, carried out under the pretext of anti-drugs operations.

Since late August, Washington has sent warships, surveillance aircraft, and special operations units to the southern Caribbean, culminating in the deployment of the USS Gerald R. Ford Carrier Strike Group.

The U.S. has since launched dozens of strikes on vessels, killing more than 85 people, claiming they were drug traffickers, while failing to provide any evidence to back up the claims. Legal experts have condemned the U.S. military’s extrajudicial killing of victims as unlawful.