Trump says 'Islamic Republic of Japan' fired missiles at US ship
President Donald Trump mistakenly said the "Islamic Republic of Japan" fired 111 missiles at a U.S. aircraft carrier "a few months ago."
He made the comments July 8 while speaking to the press alongside Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey.
"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," Trump said. "And a few months ago, we had, I told this story yesterday, we had 111 missiles shot by the Islamic Republic of Japan."
The president went on to say the missiles were shot at the aircraft carrier over the course of an hour and they were all intercepted.
USS Abraham Lincoln and the war in Iran
In February, the U.S. shot down a drone that "aggressively" approached the USS Abraham Lincoln as it was sailing in the Arabian Sea, around 500 miles from Iran's southern coast, according to previous reporting from USA TODAY. The incident occurred shortly before the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran, kicking off a war that's now stretching into its fourth month.
The following month, Iran said it struck the USS Abraham Lincoln with a ballistic missile. In a post on X, U.S. Central Command disputed the report, writing, "The Lincoln was not hit. The missiles launched didn't even come close. The Lincoln continues to launch aircraft in support of CENTCOM's relentless campaign to defend the American people by eliminating threats from the Iranian regime."
US, Japan military alliance
The United States and Japan have been military allies for nearly 75 years. The two countries signed a treaty in 1952, seven years after the end of World War II, according to the official U.S. Congress website. They also share a mutual defense agreement, with around 60,000 U.S. troops currently stationed around Japan.
Drew Pittock covers national trending news for USA TODAY. He can be reached at DPittock@usatodayco.com.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump says 'Islamic Republic of Japan' fired missiles at US ship
Reporting by Drew Pittock, USA TODAY / USA TODAY
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This story was originally published July 9, 2026 at 7:48 AM.