Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard forces/ Archive (Photo PressTV Screenshot)
One week after 11 armed Iranian speedboats swarmed around US Navy and Coast Guard ships in international waters in the Gulf, US President Donald Trump said on Twitter Wednesday he had instructed the Navy to shoot down and destroy any and all Iranian gunboats if they harass U.S ships.
While the US vessels were engaged in exercises as part of their patrols in the region the Navy reported a group of armed Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps made “dangerous and harassing approaches” to American vessels.
The reports continue the Iranian boats were coming at one point within 10 yards (nine meters) of one,“repeatedly crossed the bows and sterns of the US vessels at extremely close range and high speeds.”
The speedboats crew ignored warnings from the US ships. Finally, after about one hour, they respond to radio communications and left.
According to Mehr, Iranian News Agency, the American Navy had interfered with their own exercises and act in “unprofessional and provocative behavior.”
Sleepy Joe thought this was OK. Not me! https://t.co/VgIlA4fJKF
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 22, 2020
I have instructed the United States Navy to shoot down and destroy any and all Iranian gunboats if they harass our ships at sea.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 22, 2020
So after a week of silence from the White House, Iran’s Revolutionary Guard unveiling a secret space program and said it had launched the first military satellite into orbit.
“That launch raised concerns among experts about whether the technology could be used to help Iran develop intercontinental ballistic missiles. Iran currently has short- and intermediate-range missiles,” ABC News reported.
A spokesman for Iran’s armed forces, Gen. Abolfazl Shekarchi, accused Trump of “bullying” and said the American president should focus on taking care of U.S service members infected with the coronavirus.
The U.S. military had more than 2,600 confirmed cases of coronavirus as of last week, and at least two service members have succumbed to COVID-19, the disease the virus causes.
Read more about: Middle East, US-Iran
