Russia’s ambassador to the UN said Iran has every right to limit traffic and control the Strait of Hormuz, while also accusing Western countries of hypocrisy and piracy, Al Jazeera reports.

“There was an attempt to pin full responsibility on Iran as if it was Iran which attacked its neighbours,” Russia’s ambassador to the UN, Vassily Nebenzia, said.

“In times of war, a coastal state that is under attack may limit navigation in its territorial waters for the purpose of security.”

Nebenzia went on to compare Western states to pirates, and called out the European countries supporting Ukrainian strikes on Russian trade vessels in the Black Sea.