President Donald Trump said Wednesday he had ordered U.S. forces to 'shoot down and destroy' any Iranian ships harassing U.S. vessels, following a confrontation last week.
The commander of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps has warned that his forces will respond to any perceived threat in the Persian Gulf, after President Donald Trump ordered U.S. forces to sink Iranian vessels harassing American ships.
Hossein Salami, the IRGC commander-in-chief, said Thursday he had ordered his forces in the Gulf to destroy any vessel or combat unit that threatened the safety of Iranian ships, according to the Iranian Young Journalists Club news agency. Salami specifically referred to"any American terrorist force" posing a threat.
The COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic has overshadowed continued tensions between the U.S. and Iran in recent months, but the animosity between Washington and Tehran has resurfaced in recent days. Last week, as many as 11 fast-attack IRGC ships encircled a group of U.S. warships in the Gulf. The U.S. Fifth Fleet said the move was"unsafe and unprofessional," while the IRGC said the American ships were engaged in"illegal, unprofessional, dangerous and even adventurist behavior" in the area.
Then on Wednesday, Iran successfully launched a military satellite into orbit for the first time. The successful launch could have implications for the country's intercontinental ballistic missile program, which is one of the grievances that prompted Trump to withdraw from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action in 2018. Iran has denied that the satellite launch is connected to its ICBM program.
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