Japan ‘Not Considering’ Iran’s Offer To Allow Its Tankers Passage Through Strait Of Hormuz
US envoy Mike Waltz says Japan is considering deploying its navy for military operations to open the strategic waterway
Tokyo is not planning to request that Iran allow Japanese tankers to pass through the Strait of Hormuz, Japan’s Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi stated on 23 March, after Tehran had signaled willingness to assist.
When asked about the issue during an interview with Fuji Television on Sunday, Japanese Foreign Minister Motegi answered, “For the time being, we are not thinking about that.”
The Strait of Hormuz, through which at least 20 percent of the world’s oil typically flows, was effectively shut after the US and Israel launched a war on Iran on 28 February.
Iran threatened to target ships from “enemy states” participating in the attack against it. At the same time, maritime insurers in New York and London canceled wartime coverage for vessels passing through the strategic waterway.
On Friday, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told Japanese media that Tehran was ready to facilitate safe transit for Japan, which imports 90 percent of its oil from the Persian Gulf region.
“They only need to contact us so we can discuss how this transit can take place,” Araghchi stated in a phone interview with Kyodo News.
Araghchi rejected claims that the strait was closed, saying, “From our perspective, the strait is open. It is only closed to ships belonging to our enemies.”
Japan is allied with the US and Israel, but has not participated in the war so far.
Meanwhile, US envoy to the UN Mike Waltz claimed on Sunday that Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi has committed to assisting Washington with naval operations to open the Strait of Hormuz.
“Since so much energy is going to Europe out of the strait. We just had the Japanese prime minister commit to portions of her navy and the Japanese navy, 80 percent of what is coming out of the Gulf is going to Asia,” Waltz said in an interview with CBS News.
“So we are seeing our allies come around as they should, but at the same time, the president (Donald Trump) is not going to stand for this regime, as it has threatened and tried for five decades to hold the world’s energy supplies hostage,” he added.
On Saturday night, US President Donald Trump gave Iran a 48-hour deadline to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, saying he would “obliterate” Iranian power plants if Iran did not open it.
Tehran vowed in response that it would strike all US and Israeli-linked energy infrastructure across the entirety of the region.
Trump backtracked on his threat to strike all Iranian power infrastructure following Tehran’s warnings, claiming in a post on Truth Social that Washington and the Islamic Republic have had “productive conversations” over the past two days.
🔗SOURCE ➡️ The Cradle
Related: 3/21 — Trump Posted On Truth Social Friday Night That The US Is Considering “Winding Down” Its Military Operation Against Iran.
3/21 — Seven US Allies Endorse Hormuz ‘Coalition,’ Offer ‘No Commitment’ For Military Action
3/17 — ‘Not Our War’: Trump’s Naval Coalition To Reopen Strait Of Hormuz Dead In The Water
3/16 — ⚡️ 🔻Trump’s request for the world to join a coalition to open the Strait of Hormuz by force.
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READ FULL ARTICLE: This article originally appeared on The Cradle
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