Trump: I’ve instructed our navy to shoot down Iranian gunboats if they harass US ships

US President Donald Trump says he has instructed the American navy to shoot at the Iranians at sea if they harass his country’s ships.

In a tweet on Wednesday, Trump said he asked the navy to destroy all gunboats belonging to Iranians if they come under attack.

“I have instructed the United States Navy to shoot down and destroy any and all Iranian gunboats if they harass our ships at sea,” the president tweeted.

I have instructed the United States Navy to shoot down and destroy any and all Iranian gunboats if they harass our ships at sea.

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— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 22, 2020

In January, tensions between the US and Iran escalated following the killing of Qasem Soleimani, leader of the Quds Force, by a US drone strike.

The US accused Soleimani of planning attacks on its interest in the Middle East.

The US authorities said “[he] was actively developing plans to attack American diplomats and service members in Iraq and throughout the region”.

The Iranians vowed “harsh revenge” and later launched missiles that hit Irbil and Al Asad, two US air bases in west of Baghdad, Iraq.

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s supreme leader, described the attack on the bases as “a slap in the face” of the US.

“When it comes to confrontation, military action of this kind is not enough. What is important is that the corrupt presence of the United States should come to an end,” he had said.

Trump later claimed that the US had no casualties in the attack.