Iran ready to let Japanese vessels transit Hormuz: Report

Japan gets around 90% of its oil shipments via the Strait of Hormuz.

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TOKYO: Iran is ready to let Japanese-related vessels pass through the Strait of Hormuz, a vital artery for global oil supplies, Kyodo news reported, citing Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi.

Tehran has started talks with Tokyo, including with Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi, about possibly opening the strait, Araqchi told the Japanese news agency in a phone interview on Friday (Mar 20).

Japan's foreign and trade ministries and the Prime Minister's Office did not pick up calls from Reuters on Saturday seeking comment on the report.

"Iran is, of course, ready to support the passing of Japan-related vessels through the Strait of Hormuz", if Japan seeks the reopening of the strait, Araqchi told Kyodo.

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Japan gets around 90 per cent of its oil shipments via the strait, which Tehran has largely closed during the United States-Israeli war on Iran.

A spike in global oil prices sparked by the war, which entered its fourth week on Saturday, has prompted Japan and other countries to release oil from their reserves.

US President Donald Trump met Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi on Thursday, urging her to "step up" as he presses allies - so far unsuccessfully - to send warships to help open the strait.

Takaichi told reporters after the Washington summit that she had briefed Trump on what support Japan could and could not provide in the strait under its laws.

Japan's actions are limited under its postwar pacifist constitution, but the 2015 security legislation allows Japan to use force overseas if an attack, including on a close security partner, threatens Japan's survival and no other means are available to address it.

Araqchi, a former ambassador to Japan, said Tokyo has a friendly relationship with Tehran, expressing hope that it would play a role in ending what he called an unjustifiable and illegal "invasion" of his country.

The US does not seem ready to open conversations, Araqchi said, adding that Iran wants an end to the war, not a ceasefire, and is seeking a commitment that it would not be attacked.

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