Iran working to get frozen assets released

The Iranian government is making efforts to repatriate its frozen assets in some countries, including Japan, the Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson stated on Monday.

Speaking to reporters in a regular news briefing, Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani emphasized that Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi had also discussed the matter of the financial claims on the sidelines of the October 2022 United Nations General Assembly session in New York.

He continued by pointing out that the Japanese government has frequently stated that it is willing to pay off its obligations and that it is now making an effort to do so.

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian landed in Tokyo, the capital of Japan, late on Sunday. He held talks with the country’s leaders on global, regional, and bilateral concerns on Monday. 

During a news conference on Monday in Japan, Amir Abdollahian stated that Iran wants Japan to support measures to secure security in the West Asia region by utilizing the potential and capabilities of nations in the region.

The Foreign Ministry spokesman also said that Amir Abdollahian took part in two meetings of foreign ministers of BRICS and BRICS Plus in South Africa in June during which the participants held bilateral meetings.

The issue of Iran’s bid to join BRICS was discussed in South Africa, Kanaani said. 

During the same trip, Amir Abdollahian announced that Tehran planned to convene a conference to study collaboration between the Islamic Republic and BRICS the currently consists of the five economically emerging countries of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.

On the US decision to deploy new fighter jets and destroyers in the Persian Gulf, Kanaani said, “Our position is quite clear and, in our opinion, the Persian Gulf countries are fully capable of guaranteeing their security and there is no need for the presence of foreign forces in the region.” 

He added the security of the Persian Gulf and the Sea of Oman is one of Iran’s top concerns, emphasizing that regional security should be supplied by collaborative partnership among the Persian Gulf and Sea of Oman’s coastline nations.

In response to a question that Britain's Home Secretary Suella Braverman has said the IRGC poses threat to UK’s national security, the Foreign Ministry spokesman described the United Kingdom as a backer of terrorists in the region.

The UK is unable to blame the IRGC because of its track record in West Asia, which has resulted in long-term instability in the region, as well as its involvement in directly and indirectly supporting terrorism, Kanaani said.

“The IRGC has provided significant services not only to regional countries but also to European states,” he added. 

He went on to say that the IRGC is a branch of the Islamic Republic’s official military in charge of protecting national interests and security.