Trump references Pearl Harbor during meeting with Japanese PM on Iran war
Al Jazeera
US president said that Japan was 'stepping up to the plate' to support the US war without offering details.
United States President Donald Trump has told Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi that he expects her country to “step up” to assist with securing the Strait of Hormuz amid the US- and Israeli-led war against Iran.
But at a news conference in the Oval Office on Thursday, a reporter pressed Trump about why he did not tell US allies like Japan in advance about his administration’s plans to attack Iran.
Trump responded with a quip about the Japanese sneak attack on the US naval base at Pearl Harbor during World War II.
“We wanted surprise. Who knows better about surprise than Japan, OK? Why didn’t you tell me about Pearl Harbor?” Trump asked Takaichi, who appeared uncomfortable.
“You believe in surprise, I think, much more so than us,” Trump added.
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