In a press conference addressing rising tensions in the Middle East, President Joe Biden was asked a question about the effectiveness of Israel’s Iron Dome defense system. His response, however, left many reporters scratching their heads. “Iron Dome? Oh, man, I loved their stuff back in the ’80s,” Biden said, smiling as he reminisced. “They had some real bangers—great, great sound.”

As White House aides exchanged nervous glances, Biden continued to speak fondly about what he apparently believes is an ’80s synth-pop band. “Yeah, they had that one hit… what was it called? ‘Shield of Love’ or something? It was everywhere back then! Really kept the Cold War spirits up, y’know?”

While journalists attempted to clarify that Iron Dome is actually Israel’s advanced missile defense system, Biden remained undeterred. “Oh, sure, sure,” he replied. “I think they opened for Spandau Ballet once. I remember seeing them live in Scranton; man, those were the days—just you, some tunes, and a world without all these fancy rocket things.”

National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, stepping in quickly to do damage control, assured reporters that the President is well aware of the Iron Dome’s actual purpose. “The President has been thoroughly briefed on the missile defense capabilities,” Sullivan said. “He simply got lost in his love for the music of his youth… and maybe misunderstood the question just a tiny bit.”

Meanwhile, social media was flooded with responses from confused Iron Dome engineers and defense analysts, who were quick to point out that the system has, in fact, never played a concert or released a record. Nevertheless, a trending hashtag, #IronDome80sTour, quickly went viral, with users sharing mock album covers and parody songs like “Rockets of Love” and “Missile Blues.”

At press time, President Biden was reportedly spotted humming what he claimed was “an old Iron Dome tune,” prompting aides to issue an urgent reminder to the Commander-in-Chief that the next briefing was on hypersonic missiles—and no, they were not an obscure punk band from the ’70s.