On March 19, during a meeting in the Oval Office with Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, President Donald Trump compared the US military operations against Iran to Japan's surprise attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941.
When questioned by reporters about why he hadn't told US allies of his plans to launch a war against Tehran, Trump responded with a joke about Japan's historical expertise in surprise military tactics. "We wanted surprise. Who knows better about surprise than Japan? Why didn't you tell me about Pearl Harbor?" he asked Takaichi. "You believe in surprise, I think much more so than us."
The remark appeared to catch the Japanese Prime Minister off guard. Takaichi's expression shifted noticeably as Trump invoked the 1941 attack that brought America into World War II.
On December 7, 1941, the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service launched a surprise attack on the US naval base at Pearl Harbor in Honolulu, Hawaii. The unprovoked strike was met with outrage and disbelief, and prompted the United States, up until then a neutral country, to declare war on Japan the next day and thus enter the Second World War.
The event is commemorated every year by National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day, but several films and television shows made over the years have also helped keep the attack in the minds of the public.
Click through the following gallery and be reminded of what took place at Pearl Harbor and its place in popular culture.