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Trump says 'Islamic Republic of Japan' fired missiles at US ship
USA Today • • nation
Key Points:
- President Donald Trump mistakenly claimed that the "Islamic Republic of Japan" fired 111 missiles at the USS Abraham Lincoln, an error made during a press briefing with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the NATO summit in Ankara.
- Trump said the missiles were launched over an hour and were all intercepted, though there is no record of Japan, a U.S. ally, firing missiles at the carrier.
- In reality, the USS Abraham Lincoln was involved in tensions with Iran, including a drone incident in February and disputed claims of a ballistic missile strike by Iran in March.
- The United States and Japan have a longstanding military alliance dating back to 1952, with a mutual defense treaty and approximately 60,000 U.S. troops stationed in Japan.
