President Donald Trump, 80, appeared to be confused during a recent press briefing as he mentioned attacks on the US Navy by the Islamic Republic of Japan. The incident occurred while he was in the company of Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky, discussing the ongoing hostilities in the Persian Gulf.
In his discourse, Trump recounted an assault on the US aircraft carrier, the Abraham Lincoln, currently deployed in the Middle East. He stated that “We had 111 missiles shot by the Islamic Republic of Japan at the aircraft carrier over a span of approximately one hour. 111 missiles aiming at a highly valuable ship, and each of those missiles was successfully intercepted, mostly by patriots, but also by other means,” he elaborated.
The president seemed to be alluding to a previous attack on the US carrier by Iran earlier in the year, as tensions between Iran and US forces escalated following US-Israeli actions that initiated the conflict in February.
The mix-up saw Trump confusing Iran with Japan, countries with somewhat similar-sounding names but with no recent conflict history since World War II. Additionally, there was a moment of confusion when Trump mistakenly linked Zelensky, seated beside him, with his adversary, Russian President Vladimir Putin, asking reporters if they had a question for President Putin, eliciting laughter from the press.
Despite the slip-ups, Trump attempted to rectify the situation by reiterating himself and offering to convey the reporter’s question to the Russian leader. This was not the first time Zelensky had encountered such a mix-up, as at a previous NATO summit in 2035, President Joe Biden had mistakenly introduced him as President Putin during a media session.
Following his remarks, Trump declared an end to the ceasefire between the US and Iran, not Japan, after the US retaliated with strikes on Iran in response to attacks on shipping in the Strait of Hormuz by Tehran. Trump denounced Iranian leaders and proclaimed that the US would likely launch further vigorous actions against Iran. These statements were made during the North Atlantic Treaty Organization summit in Ankara.
The US military confirmed targeting over 60 small vessels belonging to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in retaliation for the Iranian assaults on ships in the strait. Consequently, global oil prices surged, and stock markets experienced a downturn. The S&P 500 dropped by 0.8%, the Dow Jones fell by 1.4%, and the price of Brent crude oil rose by 7.2% to $79.48 per barrel.
