https://americanmilitarynews.com/20...urce=amn&utm_campaign=alt&utm_medium=facebook Trump instructs US Navy to shoot and ‘destroy’ Iranian ships harassing US ships President Donald Trump revealed in a tweet on Wednesday morning that he has granted the U.S. Navy permission to shoot down Iranian gunboats who harass U.S. 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 tweeted. The tweet comes a week after 11 Iranian gunboats harassed six U.S. warshipsconducting joint operations in international waters of the Arabian Gulf. USS Lewis B. Puller (ESB 3), USS Paul Hamilton (DDG 60), USS Firebolt (PC 10), USS Sirocco (PC 6), USCGC Wrangell (WPB 1332) and USCGC Maui (WPB 1304) were conducting joint operations along with U.S. Army AH-64E Apache helicopters when the encounter occurred. The Iranian vessels came within 10 yards of USCGC Maui’s bow, and 50 yards from USS Lewis B. Puller. U.S. ships were forced to take action to avoid colliding with Iranian boats. U.S. crews issued radio warnings, five blasts from ships’ horns, and sounded acoustic noise makers, but were ignored by Iranian crews. After an hour, Iranian crews finally responded and turned away from the U.S. warships. “The IRGCN’s dangerous and provocative actions increased the risk of miscalculation and collision, were not in accordance with the internationally recognized Convention on the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea (COLREGS) ‘rules of the road’ or internationally recognized maritime customs, and were not in accordance with the obligation under international law to act with due regard for the safety of other vessels in the area,” U.S. Naval Forces Central Command said in a statement. The Iranian military acknowledged the close encounter with the U.S. Navy, but claimed the U.S. gave a false account of the incident. “We advise Americans to follow international regulations and maritime protocols in the Persian Gulf and Sea of Oman, and avoid any adventurism and false stories,” the IRGC said in a statement. In an announcement appearing to be aimed at the U.S. Navy, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) paramilitary force said on Monday that it now has anti-ship missiles capable of reaching targets up to 430 miles away.
Definition imply it in two ways : to cause to fall by shooting shot down the helicopter especially : to kill in this way was shot down in cold blood
The second way applies to people, because they fall down when shot. I've never heard anyone refer to tanks or gunboats as being "shot down." Neither form of "shot down" makes sense here, but my guess is he meant the first definition, mistakenly using the term for something that doesn't fly. It doesn't actually matter, it's just amusing.
I went to engineering school with a young Iranian who was a terrifically nice guy who was in ROTC becoming a Naval Officer. I hope to God that he's okay.
Well, it's on page 6 of the trump play book: When coming under fire. create a distraction to take away the pressure.