Trump explains why he kept Japan in the dark on Iran attacks: “Why didn’t you tell me about Pearl Harbour?”

Sitting next to Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi in the Oval Office on Thursday, President Trump referenced Pearl Harbour as he explained why the United States did not alert allies like Japan before attacking Iran.

a japanese journalist asked Mr Trump. The reporter asked, “Why didn’t the US alert allies like Japan before Iran’s attacks, a decision that confused the Japanese?” The President said in his response that his administration “did not tell anyone” in advance about the February 28 military action.

“Well here’s the thing: you would rather not drop too many hints, you know?” Mr Trump said.

“When we went in, we went very hard.” And we didn’t tell anyone about it because we wanted a surprise. Who knows better than Japan about surprises? Okay? Could you please let me know why I wasn’t informed about Pearl Harbour? Okay? Okay?”

“We had to surprise them and we did,” the president said of Iran. “…If I go and tell everyone about it, it won’t be a surprise.”

Takaichi seemed stunned by the president’s comment, his eyes widening momentarily. Takaichi speaks some English but spoke mostly through a translator at the event.

Later in the day, the White House posted a photo of the two leaders together, with both thumbs up.

Japan and the United States have been officially allies since 1952, although the wounds of World War II took longer to heal in numerous instances.

In 2016, Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe visited the tragic Pearl Harbour memorial site with then-President Barack Obama. Abe expressed his “sincere and lasting condolences” to the Americans who lost their lives in the surprise Japanese attack on December 7, 1941, and in World War II. Abe said he was “completely speechless” about the deaths of so many American service members. The Pearl Harbour attack resulted in the deaths of more than 2,400 Americans.

“On behalf of the Japanese people, I would like to once again express my heartfelt gratitude to the United States and the world for the tolerance given to Japan.” Abe said in those days. “…Japan and the United States, which fought a fierce war that will go down in the annals of human history, have become allies with a strong relationship rarely found anywhere else in history.”

Mr. Trump also enjoyed a strong relationship with Abe, a friendship that recent prime ministers have not matched. Abe was assassinated during a speech in Japan in 2022.