Trump mentions Pearl Harbor when asked about no Japan notice on Iran attacks

President Donald Trump joked Thursday about Pearl Harbor when asked whether Japan and other U.S. allies had advance warning of their attack on Iran, saying the United States “wanted a surprise.”

Trump made the comment while sitting across from Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi during a bilateral meeting at the White House.

“Japan and the United States are very good friends, but one question: why didn’t you tell America’s allies in Europe and Asia, like Japan, about the war before attacking Iran? So we, Japanese citizens, are very confused,” a reporter asked Trump.

“Well, one thing, you don’t want to signal too much,” the president replied. “You know, when we went there, we went really hard, and we didn’t tell anyone because we wanted a surprise. Who knows surprise better than Japan? Okay? Why didn’t you tell me about Pearl Harbor? Okay? Right?”

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President Donald Trump speaks during a meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi in the Oval Office of the White House, Thursday, March 19, 2026, in Washington. (Alex Brandon/AP)

“You know, he asks me: ‘Do you believe in surprise?’ I think it much more than we do. And we had to surprise them. And we did it,” Trump continued. “And because of that surprise, we eliminated the first two days, we eliminated probably 50 percent of what we had done – and a lot more than we had planned. So if I tell everyone about it, there’s no surprise anymore, right?”

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Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, seated with Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, speaks during a meeting with President Donald Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi in the Oval Office of the White House, Thursday, March 19, 2026, in Washington. (Alex Brandon/AP)

Earlier in the meeting, Trump told reporters: “We’re taking this excursion. And when it is finished, we will have a much safer world. And the Prime Minister agrees with me on this point.“

“Iran poses a serious threat to the world, to the Middle East and to the world. And everyone agrees with me,” Trump said. “I think almost every country agrees with me on this. So I wanted to put out this fire.”

Two F/A-18 Super Hornets are launched from the flight deck of the US Navy Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln in support of the Operation Epic Fury attack on Iran from an undisclosed location, March 3, 2026. (US Navy/handout via Reuters)

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Operation Epic Fury was launched by the United States on February 28 and is on its 20th day on Thursday.