Diplomatic Missteps
Trump Mistakenly Identifies Iran as Japan Amid NATO Summit Tensions
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Key Points
1
CENTCOM publicly denied Iran's claim of hitting the USS Abraham Lincoln, underscoring that Iran's attack assertion remained unverified.
2
Trump told reporters, 'I'll give a little warning: We're going to hit them hard tonight,' signaling a renewed willingness to strike Iran.
3
He claimed an attack on Kharg Island, saying, 'We attacked Kharg Island last night, and we knocked out a piece. I said, don’t touch the oil because maybe we’ll take over Kharg Island,' suggesting possible oil seizure aims.
4
During a Q&A with Zelensky, he was asked about licensing Ukraine to produce Patriot interceptors and framed Patriot defenses as defensive rather than offensive.
At the NATO summit in Ankara, President Trump made a striking error — calling Iran the 'Islamic Republic of Japan' and claiming Japan fired 111 missiles at the USS Abraham Lincoln, according to USA Today. The gaffe drew immediate attention in a high-stakes setting where U.S.-Iran tensions are already at a boiling point.
The blunder was one of several during a chaotic press conference. Trump also appeared to call Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky 'President Putin' while the two stood side by side, Forbes reported.
Trump Mixes Up Iran and Japan in Missile Claim
Trump told reporters that 111 missiles had been fired at the USS Abraham Lincoln — but he named Japan as the attacker instead of Iran. He praised Patriot missile defenses for intercepting the attack. The claim echoed Iran's own assertions about striking the U.S. carrier, which CENTCOM publicly denied as unverified, according to USA Today.
The slip drew instant ridicule online. Reporters and analysts called it a notable error in a moment requiring precise language. Iran and Japan are not easy countries to confuse — one is a U.S. ally in the Pacific, the other a key adversary in the Middle East.
Trump Warns of Strikes and Claims Kharg Island Hit
Beyond the gaffe, Trump made pointed threats toward Iran. 'I'll give a little warning: We're going to hit them hard tonight,' he told reporters. He also claimed the U.S. had already struck Iran's Kharg Island, a major oil export hub. 'We attacked Kharg Island last night, and we knocked out a piece,' Trump said.
Trump added a striking line about the island's future: 'I said, don't touch the oil because maybe we'll take over Kharg Island.' The comment suggested possible U.S. aims to seize control of Iran's oil infrastructure. It also implied the ceasefire and interim deal with Iran may already be falling apart.
Trump Calls Zelensky 'Putin' at NATO Press Conference
The Iran gaffe was not Trump's only stumble. While standing next to Zelensky at the NATO summit, Trump referred to the Ukrainian president as 'President Putin,' according to Yahoo News. The slip came during a discussion about Ukraine's defense needs and the war with Russia.
Trump was also asked whether the U.S. would license Ukraine to produce Patriot interceptors. He framed Patriot systems as purely defensive weapons, not offensive ones. Forbes noted the exchange was part of a wider press conference that analysts described as gaffe-filled and hard to follow.
Confusion Overshadows NATO's High-Stakes Diplomacy
The errors came at a tense moment in global diplomacy. The NATO summit in Ankara was meant to center on Ukraine's defense and the Iran nuclear standoff. Instead, Trump's misstatements — Iran becoming Japan, Zelensky becoming Putin — dominated coverage, according to Dagens.
Trump also touched on Venezuela and other countries, keeping a hardline tone throughout the day. But the Iran-Japan mix-up stood out most. It raised questions about the accuracy of U.S. messaging at a moment when a single miscalculation could escalate an already volatile conflict with Tehran.
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