Read 'nonfiction books' about world affairs, Iran advises US officials

Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman has advised American officials to read nonfiction books about the world affairs, as it may help them stop making empty threats against Tehran.

“Today is World Book Day! My free advice to US officials: READ BOOK!” Abbas Mousavi tweeted on Thursday night.

“Had the American leaders read nonfiction books about world affairs, they'd have stopped making empty threats against Iran, "THE GREAT NATION", relying on the fakes for judgment, and outsourcing Iran policy to warmongers!” he added.

Mousavi’s comments came shortly after US President Donald Trump claimed that he had instructed the US Navy to destroy Iranian boats “if they harass” American ships in the Persian Gulf.

"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 wrote on Twitter on Wednesday.

The order was Trump's reaction to a recent confrontation between US warships and Iranian boats in the Persian Gulf.

Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps released a video on Sunday showing its Navy warning off a flotilla of US warships in the Persian Gulf as they tried to approach the Iranian territorial waters.

An IRGC Navy officer was shown warning the US vessels to stop inspecting and detaining Iranian fishing or commercial ships in the Persian Gulf and the Sea of Oman.

Trump claimed that such incidents happened frequently during Obama’s presidency, saying that, “Under the Obama administration, it was taking place all the time. Under my administration, I gave this order early on and nothing happened. They were very nice. There was no problem.”

On January 12, 2016, the IRGC detained 10 US sailors for trespassing on Iran’s territorial waters in the Persian Gulf.

Trump made the claim as the IRGC shot down an intruding American spy drone in the country’s southern coastal province of Hormozgan last June after the aircraft violated Iranian airspace.

Trump says ordered Navy to destroy Iranian boats ‘if they harass’ US ships

US president is stepping up his anti-Iran threats by claiming that he has instructed the US Navy to destroy Iranian boats “if they harass” US ships in the Persian Gulf.

Trump’s latest threat comes as his administration is under unprecedented pressure over its highly criticized response to the coronavirus pandemic, prompting suggestions that his anti-Iran statement is probably meant to divert attentions from his poor handling of the crisis.

The threat came on the same say that the IRGC successfully launched and placed the country’s first military satellite into the orbit.

“The satellite’s successful launch enhanced new aspects of the Islamic Republic’s defensive might. By God’s grace, the Corps turned into a space force today,” Major General Salami said.

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