Gen. Hossein Salami, the head of Iranās Revolutionary Guard, says he ordered Iranās naval units to attack U.S. naval vessels if they ājeopardizeā Military or commercial ships.
On Thursday, SalamiĀ toldĀ Iranian state television that Iranian forces would āanswer any action by a decisive, effective and quick counteraction.ā
He continued, āWe have ordered our naval units at sea that if any warships or Military units from the naval force of Americaās terrorist army wants to jeopardize our commercial vessels or our combat vessels, they must target those (American) warships or naval units.ā
Salamiās warning comes a day after President Donald Trump said in a tweet that he had ordered the U.S. Navy to āshoot down and destroy any and all Iranian gunboats if they harass our ships at sea.ā
Last week, the Navyās 5th FleetĀ said that 11Ā Iranian vessels āconducted dangerous and harassing approachesā around U.S. warships.
āThe IRGCNās dangerous and provocative actions increased the risk of miscalculation and collision,ā the Navy said.
The Navy also released pictures and videos of the Iranian ships near U.S. vessels.Ā
Addressing his tweet during a press conference on Wednesday, Trump said, āWe donāt want their gunboats surrounding our boats, and traveling around our boats and having a good time.ā
He added, āWeāre not going to stand for it. ⦠Theyāll shoot them out of the water.ā
Thursdayās warning from Salami marks the latest flare-up in tensions between the two countries. On April 1, TrumpĀ warnedĀ that if Iran, or its proxies, attacked U.S. soldiers āor assetsā in Iraq, it would āpay a very heavy price.ā
