Trump Says 'Islamic Republic of Japan' Fired Missiles

President Donald Trump mistakenly referred to the "Islamic Republic of Japan" while describing an alleged missile attack on a U.S. aircraft carrier during remarks to reporters alongside Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on July 8 at the NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey.

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Speaking about the USS Abraham Lincoln, Trump said: "We have an aircraft carrier which is one of the most beautiful in the world, it's one of the biggest, the (USS) Abraham Lincoln. And a few months ago, we had, I told this story yesterday, we had 111 missiles shot by the Islamic Republic of Japan."

He went on to claim the missiles were fired at the aircraft carrier over the course of an hour and that every one of them was intercepted.

USS Abraham Lincoln and Iran

The USS Abraham Lincoln has been involved in heightened tensions with Iran in recent months.

In February, the U.S. military said it shot down a drone that approached the aircraft carrier aggressively while it was operating in the Arabian Sea, about 500 miles off Iran's southern coast.

The following month, Iran claimed it had struck the USS Abraham Lincoln with a ballistic missile. U.S. Central Command rejected the claim, stating that the carrier was not hit and that the missiles "didn't even come close." The military said the vessel continued launching aircraft in support of operations aimed at countering threats from Iran.

Longstanding US-Japan Alliance

Trump's reference appeared to confuse Iran with Japan.

The United States and Japan have maintained a close military alliance for nearly 75 years. The two countries signed a security treaty in 1952, several years after the end of World War II, and continue to cooperate under a mutual defense agreement.

Around 60,000 U.S. military personnel are currently stationed in Japan as part of the alliance.

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9 July 2026