Iran commander threatens US navy after Trump tweet

The leader of Iran's Revolutionary Guard on Thursday warned his forces would target the U.S. Navy after President Donald Trump's tweet a day earlier threatening to sink Iranian vessels.

Speaking to state television Thursday, General Hossein Salami warned his forces will "answer any action" by the Navy.

The latest dispute comes after the U.S. Navy said last week that 11 Guard naval gunboats had carried out "dangerous and harassing approaches" to American Navy and Coast Guard vessels in the Persian Gulf.

The Americans said they used a variety of non-lethal means to warn off the Iranian boats, and they eventually left.

Tensions flared anew on Wednesday when the Revolutionary Guard conducted a space launch that could advance the country's long-range missile program.

After Iran's announcement, Trump wrote on Twitter, without citing any specific incident, “I have instructed the United States Navy to shoot down and destroy any and all Iranian gunboats if they harass our ships at sea.”