US President Donald Trump on Wednesday tweeted that he has ordered the country’s navy “to shoot down and destroy any and all Iranian gunboats” that harass American ships.
“I have instructed the United States Navy to shoot down and destroy any and all Iranian gunboats if they harass our ships at sea,” Trump said.
Last week, US Navy released a video that showed Iranian naval vessels and it said they had repeatedly conducting "dangerous and harassing approaches" toward US Navy warships. It also claimed that one Iranian vessel came within 10 yards of colliding with a US ship.
Earlier on Sunday Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps responded to the US navy’s claim and said it will “respond to any mistake by the US in the Gulf.”
Tensions between Tehran and Washington increased over its collapsing nuclear deal and after a US drone strike killed IRGC commander Qassem Soleimani in January.
