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US President Donald Trump on July 8 said “the Islamic Republic of Japan” fired missiles at a US aircraft carrier, apparently confusing longtime ally Japan with Iran.

Trump made the remark during a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the Turkish capital Ankara on the sidelines of a NATO summit.

“We had 111 missiles shot by the Islamic Republic of Japan,” Trump said.

He went on to say that the missiles were shot at the aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln over a period of one hour and they were intercepted. KYODO NEWS