NEW YORK -- Prime Minister Shinzo Abe met with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani in New York on Tuesday and asked him to ensure the safety of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz amid rising tensions in the Middle East.
At the meeting, which lasted for about an hour, Abe called on Iran to fulfill its responsibility as a Persian Gulf country to ensure the safe navigation of Japanese and other ships in the Strait of Hormuz. "Ensuring the safety of navigation in the Middle East is extremely important for Japan, which imports more than 80 percent of its crude oil from the Middle East," Abe said.
In response, Rouhani referred to Iran's own security vision, called the "coalition of hope," in which only Persian Gulf countries can participate. He said he would explain the envisaged coalition in his address to the U.N. General Assembly on Wednesday.
Abe did not specify Japan's response to the Iranian vision, as Tokyo is considering a plan to dispatch a Maritime Self-Defense Force destroyer independently and the United States has asked Japan to join its proposed maritime security initiative.
During the talks, Abe expressed strong concern over recent attacks on Saudi Arabian oil facilities without naming Iran, saying, "Considerable doubts have been raised that the attacks were carried out by Houthi [rebels in Yemen]."
Calling for restraint from Iran, Abe then said, "I want Iran to play a constructive role for peace and stability in the region." He also said, "Japan will also play a role to ease the tensions and stabilize the situation."
The United States, Britain, France, Germany and other countries have blamed Iran for the attacks, but Japan has not determined who was responsible.
Rouhani told Abe that Iran wants to work together to deal with the situation, as regional security is also important for Iran. Referring to Abe's visit to Iran in June, Rouhani also said he trusts and has high expectations of Abe and Japan.
Regarding the Iran nuclear agreement, Abe expressed concern over Tehran suspending its observance of the obligations and strongly urged Rouhani to refrain from taking action that could undermine the nuclear accord. The Iranian president explained his country's position that such moves were countermeasures against the United States, which withdrew from the agreement and resumed economic sanctions.
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