DENIED: Defense Secretary Mattis 'refuses' reckless Trump plan to sink Iranian ships

President Donald Trump wanted the Pentagon to provide military options for sinking Iranian ships but Defense Secretary Jim Mattis reportedly refused.

According to a Washington Post report published on Wednesday, the topic of Iranian ships came up last May when there were signs that Iran might increase military aggression.

The report says that Trump personally called for Mattis to put together a plan to sink Iranian ships and hit other targets.

One tense moment came last May as officials grew increasingly concerned about aggressive Iranian behavior.

For weeks, Mattis had been resisting requests from the White House to provide military options for Iran. Now Trump made clear that he wanted the Pentagon to deliver a range of plans that included striking Iranian ballistic missile factories or hitting Iranian speedboats that routinely harassed U.S. Navy vessels.

“Why can’t we sink them?” Trump would sometimes ask about the boats.

U.S officials told the Post that Trump's request was passed to Mattis by National Security adviser H.R. McMaster during a conference call.

In the end, "the defense secretary refused," the sources said.

"At that point, McMaster took Mattis off speakerphone, cleared his staff from the room and continued the conversation," the Post reported.