President Donald Trump has claimed that "most" Iranians have the same first name, "Muhammad something," during an interview with Fox News on Friday. He was discussing the ability of the U.S. Space Force to monitor Iranian nuclear sites.
Trump said the Space Force, which he created, has nine cameras in space on the site, and can read a person's name from space. He guessed that about 50 percent of Iranians are named Muhammad. The claim aligns with Muhammad being the most popular name in the world, according to the parenting site the Bump.
The comments came amid the ongoing conflict with Iran, which began at the end of February. Trump has repeatedly said Iran poses an imminent threat due to its nuclear ambitions and has insisted that any peace deal must guarantee Tehran cannot obtain a nuclear weapon.
Trump also referred to "nuclear dust," which he said is all that remains after U.S. strikes "because it was so obliterated." According to The New York Times, this term refers to near-bomb-grade uranium typically stored as a gas in canisters buried during strikes last summer.
In a separate Fox News interview aired Thursday, Trump praised Chinese President Xi Jinping's appearance, describing him as "central casting" for a movie leader. Trump returned from his China trip on Friday after high-stakes talks with Xi, during which Xi reportedly expressed a willingness to help negotiate a peace deal and open the Strait of Hormuz.
China is the main buyer of Iranian oil. Iran closed the Strait of Hormuz in retaliation for U.S. and Israeli strikes, leading to a U.S. naval blockade of Iranian ports.
