![(FILES)This US Navy file photo shows Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy (IRGCN) vessels conducting unsafe and unprofessional actions against the guided-missile destroyer USS Paul Hamilton (DDG 60) and other US military ships by crossing the ships’ bows and sterns at close range while operating in international waters of the north Gulf on April 15, 2020. Paul Hamilton is conducting joint interoperability operations in support of maritime security in the US 5th Fleet area of operations. US President Donald Trump said April 22, 2020 he had ordered the US military to attack and destroy any Iranian vessel that harasses US Navy 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 said on Twitter.
- RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - MANDATORY CREDIT "AFP PHOTO /US NAVY/HANDOUT " - NO MARKETING - NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS - DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS
/ AFP / Navy Office of Information / Handout / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - MANDATORY CREDIT "AFP PHOTO /US NAVY/HANDOUT " - NO MARKETING - NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS - DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/5ICVV6RKFN5GONG4K76U366NSI.jpg?smart=true&auth=ef25e4e6db673efd04e9e302cce45ba6c1b38cf1346a01bafe1747ac5cdf1769&width=400&height=225)
A US Navy file photo shows Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy vessels alongside the guided-missile destroyer 'USS Paul Hamilton'. AFP
A US Navy file photo shows Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy vessels alongside the guided-missile destroyer 'USS Paul Hamilton'. AFP
Tehran says Iranian 'spy ship' lightly damaged in Red Sea attack
Incident follows revelations that Iran and Israel have been sabotaging each other's ships