US President Donald Trump said on Thursday that a US ship "destroyed" an Iranian drone.

Trump, who spoke at the White House, said the drone came within 1,000 yards of the USS Boxer, a navy amphibious assault ship, and ignored "multiple calls to stand down."

The President added the drone was "threatening the safety of the ship and the ship's crew" in the Strait of Hormuz and was "immediately destroyed."

The drone was destroyed using electronic jamming, according to a US defense official quoted by CNN.

The crew of the Boxer took defensive action after the drone came within a threatening distance of the US ship, the official said.

"This is the latest of many provocative and hostile actions by Iran against vessels operating in international waters," Trump added. "The United States reserves the right to defend our personnel, our facilities and interest and calls upon all nations to condemn Iran's attempts to disrupt freedom of navigation and global commerce."

He called on other countries to condemn Iran's action and protect their own vessels.

Thursday’s incident comes amid ongoing tensions between the US and Iran in the Persian Gulf. Last month, Iran shot down a US drone, claiming it violated Iranian airspace near the Strait of Hormuz.

Trump approved military strikes against Iran in retaliation for the downing of the drone, but pulled back from launching them. He later made clear that he had not called off the planned strike on Iran but rather simply stopped it from going forward at that time.

A commander in Iran’s Revolutionary Guards then warned that US regional bases and its aircraft carriers in the Gulf are within the range of Iranian missiles.