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.
