Tasnim � Iran�s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif reminded Washington that American forces �have no business 7,000 miles away from home� and are provoking Iranian sailors in the Persian Gulf.

�The US military is hit by over 5000 #covid19 infections. @realdonaldtrump should attend to their needs, not engage in threats cheered on by Saddam's terrorists,� Zarif said in a tweet on Thursday.

�Also, US forces have no business 7,000 miles away from home, provoking our sailors off our OWN Persian Gulf shores,� he added.

The remarks came after US President Donald Trump said he had instructed the US navy to destroy Iranian boats �if they harass� US 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 said in a tweet on Wednesday morning.

On Sunday, the IRGC Navy released a video showing a recent confrontation between its forces and the US navy in the Persian Gulf, refuting claims by Washington that Iranian forces behaved in a dangerous manner when faced with US navy vessels.