NBC Reports Erroneous Tweet "To Destroy Iranian Boats" Attributed to Trump

The tweet was posted by an account belonging to a Heshmat Alavi. The Intercept reported last June that Alavi is not a real person but is in fact a persona created by members of the Iranian dissident group Mujahedeen e-Khalq (MEK).

The content of the Tweet: President Donald Trump announced Wednesday that he directed the Navy to “shoot down” Iranian gunboats that harass U.S. ships, but Pentagon officials said they’ve received no new directives. Trump created a stir when he made the announcement via Twitter just after 8 a.m. “I have instructed the United States Navy to shoot down and destroy any and all Iranian gunboats if they harass our ships at sea,” he wrote.