Arab News Japan

TOKYO: Japanese media reported on Wednesday US President Donald Trump’s statements from a press conference August 4, where he said the massive explosion that occurred at Beirut’s port “resembles a type of bomb … it was not an accident … it looked like a terrible attack.”

But Trump did not give any details about who was behind the possible attack and said that “the US is ready to communicate with Lebanon.”

Trump said he had received a report from military officials about the explosion.

“They think it was an attack, not an industrial accident, and this is because of the type and shape of the explosion,” the daily Mainishi quoted Trump as saying.

The US State Department said in a statement Tuesday that it was awaiting the Lebanese government’s findings to investigate the case. A Pentagon spokesman later said, “We cannot currently issue a statement about the cause of the explosion and are closely monitoring the situation.”

The American embassy in Beirut called on American residents in Lebanon to stay in their homes, cautioning that “information indicates the spread of harmful gases around the site of the explosion.”