Araghchi speaks with Japan: Tokyo seeks safe navigation in Hormuz

Iran’s Foreign Minister, Abbas Araghchi, held a phone call on Thursday with his Japanese counterpart, Motegi Toshimitsu, as diplomatic efforts to resolve the U.S.–Iran conflict crisis continue, as Al Jazeera reports in its live blog on the Iran war.

According to the Iranian news agency ISNA, Araghchi reviewed the latest developments in the region during the call. Japan’s Foreign Ministry, for its part, announced that the two ministers “confirmed they will continue to maintain close communication toward a diplomatic solution to the situation”.

During the call, Toshimitsu reiterated that it is important to restore free and safe navigation through the Strait of Hormuz and the Bab el-Mandeb strait, and to discuss the future of Hormuz with the entire international community, according to Tokyo’s statement cited by Al Jazeera.

The Strait of Hormuz, through which about a fifth of the world’s oil passed before the war began in February, remains practically closed to normal commercial traffic, while the U.S. has reimposed a naval blockade on Iranian ports. Japan, as one of the largest importers of Gulf oil, has a vital interest in restoring the security of this artery and has often played the role of mediator in the region’s crises.

The call comes at a moment of high tensions, with Tehran and Washington exchanging counter-proposals through mediators on reopening the strait and resuming nuclear talks, without yet reaching an agreement.