A blunder by Donald Trump was caught on camera today, as the NATO summit is underway in Ankara. The rambling 79-year-old US leader mistakenly claimed that the “Islamic Republic of Japan” fired 111 missiles at the USS Abraham Lincoln, which were all
“They were shot at the aircraft carrier!”, he added. Speaking at the 2026 Ankara Nato Summit, he appeared to confuse Japan with Iran, seemingly referring to a previous attack on a US carrier by Iranian forces. Japan is one of the closest allies of the US and share many geopolitical, economic, and security ties. The last time the two nations engaged in conflict was during World War 2.
His misstatement coincided with renewed hostilities involving Iran, following the collapse of a ceasefire and American military strikes on Iranian sites.
Trump was asked about Iran was speaking speaking to reporters at the Nato summit, alongside Ukraine‘s President Volodymyr Zelensky.
The US President said: “We hit them very hard last night, very, very hard.” He went on to the US will “probably hit them hard again tonight”.
Issuing a stark warning, Trump added: “I gave them a little warning, we’re gonna hit them hard again tonight.”
An initial, two-week fragile ceasefire was agreed in April, and was later extended indefinitely.
Last night the US launched a new wave of strikes against Iran, describing them as retaliation for Tehran’s attacks in the strategically important Strait of Hormuz.
The action has spared widespread fears of a renewed all-out war across the Middle East.
CENTCOM said in a separate message later in the day that it had hit “over 80 targets with precision munitions as an immediate response to Iran’s latest attacks on commercial vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz.”
“U.S. forces struck Iranian air defense systems, command and control networks, coastal radar sites, anti-ship missile capabilities, and more than 60 Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps small boats in and near the strait to degrade Iran’s ability to continue attacking international commerce flowing through the international trade corridor,” the statement continued.
Nato chief Mark Rutte called the American strikes “absolutely necessary”
But Iran’s IRGC launched counter-strikes against Bahrain and Kuwait, which the foreign ministry of neighbouring Qatar says were a “blatant breach” of international law and the two countries’ sovereignty.