Trump instructs US to "shoot down and destroy" iranian gun boats harrassing US Ships

US President Donald Trump tweeted yesterday that he had told the United States Navy to "shoot down and destroy" Iranian gunboats that "harass" US 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 tweeted. Trump further said that the US Navy ships would shoot Iranian gunboats that get too close "out of the water". Speaking at a white house briefing yesterday Trump said, "We're not going to stand for it. If they do that that's putting our ships in danger and our great crews and sailors in danger - I'm not going to let that happen. And we will - they'll shoot them out of the water." "That's a threat. When they get that close to our boat, and they have guns, they have very substantial weapons on those boats, but we'll shoot them out of the water,"he added. Senior Pentagon officials said Trump's comments were meant as a warning to Tehran but suggested that the US military would continue to abide by their existing right to self defence instead of changing their rules. Following Trump's tweet, an Iranian armed forces spokesman said the US should focus on saving its military from the coronavirus. According to an Iranian news agency,Abolfazl Shekarchi said, "The Americans should put all their efforts toward saving those members of their forces who are infected with coronavirus.” Trump's comments on Wednesday came about a week after 11 vessels from the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps Navy came close to US ships. Iranian and US vessels routinely have tense encounters in the Gulf and its narrow mouth, the Strait of Hormuz, through which 20 percent of the world's oil passes.