President Trump on Wednesday warned Iran that the U.S. will act with force in response to its vessels challenging U.S. military ships in the Persian Gulf.

Nearly a dozen Iranian gunboats recently harassed U.S. Navy and Coast Guard ships in the northern part of the 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 tweeted Wednesday.

The Navy says the Iranian vessels belong to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps navy last week and came within 10 yards of a Coast Guard cutter, according to The Wall Street Journal.