Iranian, Japanese DMs Discuss US Presence in Region

In a telephone conversation with his Japanese counterpart Taro Kono, Brigadier General Hatami slammed the US presence in the region as the root cause of tensions and instability.

“In order to resolve the tensions and create stability and security in the region, the American occupier-style and interventionist presence must end as soon as possible,” the Iranian defence minister underlined.

He also denounced the US assassination of top Iranian commander General Qassem Soleimani on the soil of another country as a serious and unprecedented crime, adding, “According to a clear resolution of the United Nations Security Council, the US measure is a blatant example of state-sponsored terrorism.”

As the largest littoral country in the Persian Gulf and the Oman Sea region, Iran has always played its role in ensuring security of the regional waters, the Iranian minister added, noting, “The parties intending to help de-escalate the tensions and create stability in the region must remind the Americans, who are the cause of insecurity in the region, that they should leave the region in order to establish stability and calm.”

Hatami finally called on all independent and free countries in the world to condemn the US government’s terrorist activities.

The Japanese minister of defence, for his part, expressed Japan’s readiness to play a role in de-escalation of tension and establishment of peace and stability in the region.

Kono also reiterated that Japan has decided not to take part in the US-led military coalitions in the region.