Trump says US will destroy Iranian gunboats harassing US ships

US President Donald Trump tweeted on Wednesday morning 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 did not cite a specific event in his tweet or provide details.

He said later on Wednesday that US Navy ships would shoot Iranian gunboats that get too close “out of the water”.

“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,” he said during a White House briefing. “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.”

Trump did not cite a specific event in his tweet or provide details.

He said later on Wednesday that US Navy ships would shoot Iranian gunboats that get too close “out of the water”.

“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,” he said during a White House briefing. “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.”