Donald Trump calls Iran ‘Islamic Republic of Japan’ during NATO summit presser
During the final hours of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) summit in Ankara, Türkiye, United States (US) President Donald Trump declared that an interim agreement aimed at ending the war with Iran was “over”.
He added that the US would likely launch further strikes against the country.
Source: @whitehouse on Instagram
The US and Israel have been at war with Iran and its regional allies since 3 Feb, after the US shot down a drone that had allegedly approached the USS Abraham Lincoln “aggressively” while the aircraft carrier was sailing in the Arabian Sea.
That incident sparked a conflict that has since entered its fifth month.
While recounting an alleged attack on the carrier, Trump said: “We have an aircraft carrier which is one of the most beautiful in the world. We had 111 missiles shot by the Islamic Republic of Japan.”
The apparent mix-up between Iran and Japan prompted murmurs of confusion in the room.
Source: @zelenskyy_official on Instagram
Trump continued without correcting himself, claiming that all 111 missiles had been intercepted within an hour.
Trump addresses Volodymyr Zelenskyy as ‘President Putin’
The 80-year-old president’s apparent conflation of Iran and Japan was not his only verbal slip-up during the summit.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was also in Ankara to make his case for Ukraine’s admission into NATO.
He argued that excluding Ukraine would be a mistake, given the military capabilities and experience it has developed throughout the ongoing war with Russia.
“If we already have these capabilities, if Ukrainians already know how to fight like this, then it does make sense for these capabilities to become a part of the alliance’s collective defence, which would make all of us stronger,” he said.
Following his speech, Zelenskyy met Trump on the sidelines of the summit before the pair held an impromptu media conference.
Despite their contentious Oval Office meeting in 2025, Trump said they had “actually developed a good relationship”.
He also announced that the US would purchase Ukrainian drones and had given Ukraine the green light to co-produce Patriot interceptors to strengthen its air defences.
However, Trump appeared to confuse Zelenskyy with Russian President Vladimir Putin during the media session.
Source: @zelenskyy_official on Instagram
Gesturing towards the Ukrainian leader, he asked reporters:
Do you have a question for President Putin, please?
The remark visibly confused those in the room. After journalists pointed out the apparent error, Trump attempted to recover, saying: “Not Zelensky, Putin. What would you like to ask him? Because I’m going to ask him that question.”
Zelenskyy raised his eyebrows but did not comment on the mix-up.
Trump’s gaffes spark concern and memes online
Clips of Trump’s remarks quickly circulated across social media, with viewers reacting with a mixture of amusement and concern.
Some turned the moments into memes. The official TikTok account of the US Democratic Party, for instance, shared a Kahoot-style quiz referencing the president’s remarks.
@democrats 🤨
Others poked fun at Trump’s “Islamic Republic of Japan” comment by editing hijabs onto anime characters.
However, several netizens were less amused, pointing to what they described as a pattern of similar verbal mistakes since Trump began his second term.
Trump’s TikTok claim sparks further concern online
The clips emerged days after another disputed remark by Trump during an Oval Office appearance on Monday (6 July).
Trump claimed that his TikTok following ranked “number one”, ahead of Taylor Swift, whom he placed at “number eleven”.
The publicly displayed follower counts did not support his claim. Trump had approximately 16.6 million TikTok followers, while Swift had about 33.5 million.
Together, the incidents have fuelled renewed online discussion about the president’s age and fitness for office, although the verbal slip-ups alone do not establish any medical conclusion.
Also read: Today 8 years ago: S’pore hosts historic Donald Trump & Kim Jong Un meeting costing S$16.3M
Today 8 years ago: S’pore hosts historic Donald Trump & Kim Jong Un meeting costing S$16.3M
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Featured image adapted from @zelenskyy_official on Instagram
