In Nato summit gaffe, Trump says ‘Islamic Republic of Japan’ fired missiles at US ship

US President Donald Trump on Wednesday said “the Japan" class="entity-link entity-location" data-entity-id="161724" data-entity-type="location">Islamic Republic of Japan” fired missiles at a US aircraft carrier, apparently confusing long-time ally Japan with Iran.Trump made the remark during a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in the Turkish capital Ankara on the sidelines of a Nato summit.“We had 111 missiles shot by the Japan" class="entity-link entity-location" data-entity-id="161724" data-entity-type="location">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.The US navy has stationed 19 ships around the waters of Iran. It includes two aircraft carriers – the USS Lincoln and USS George H.W. Bush – as well as an amphibious assault ship carrying over 1,000 Marines, 14 destroyers, a cruiser and an expeditionary sea base vessel.Japan and the United States are long-time security allies and have been deepening cooperation in addressing threats from countries such as China and North Korea. Japan has also maintained amicable ties with Iran.