Trump says he directed Navy to 'shoot down and destroy' Iranian gunboats

April 22 (UPI) -- President Donald Trump wrote on Twitter Wednesday morning that he has directed the Navy to destroy any Iranian gunboats that harass U.S. ships.

A spokesman for the Navy declined to comment on the tweet, but during a press briefing later Wednesday morning, deputy defense secretary David Norquist said the president had "issued an important warning to the Iranians."

"What he was emphasizing was all of our ships retain the right of self-defense, and people need to be very careful in their interactions to understand the inherent right of self-defense," Norquist told reporters.

Trump's tweet does not reference any specific incident or provide details.

The Navy has reported numerous "dangerous and harassing" approaches to U.S. ships in the North Arabian Gulf in recent weeks, and shortly before the tweet was sent Iran's Revolutionary Guard said it had launched the country's first military satellite.