Japan advocates dialog on Iran N-issue

Japan’s Foreign Minister Koichiro Gemba has called for a diplomatic solution to the dispute between a US-led group of Western countries and Iran over Tehran’s civilian nuclear program.

“We believe that we should solve the problem diplomatically and peacefully. That is why dialogue with Iran should continue,” Gemba said during his Tuesday visit to the UAE.

The Japanese minister made the remarks amid the recent escalation of tensions between Washington and Tehran after the US announced plans to boycott Iran’s Central Bank over the country’s nuclear program in an apparent effort to punish foreign companies and banks that conduct business with the Iranian financial institution.

The US-led sanctions are ultimately designed to target Iran’s oil exports by discouraging refiners across the world from paying for the country’s crude.

Iran, in turn, has declared that it would shut down the Strait of Hormuz if the US-led oil embargo against the nation affects its crude exports, arguing that the strategic waterway should be beneficial to either all or no nation with interest in the region’s oil.

Gemba also expressed concern over the latest row and called for dialogue over the issue.

“Japan is very concerned about the latest developments,” the Japanese minister said.

Japan’s Finance Minister Jun Azumi, who is due to meet with US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner during an upcoming Tokyo visit, is now expected to urge exemption of Japanese banks from US penalties.

The US-led anti-Iran efforts, as well as unilateral sanctions imposed on Iran’s energy and financial sectors by Britain and Canada came after the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) issued a report on the Iranian nuclear program early in November, falsely implying that Tehran may be seeking a military diversion in its nuclear program.

Despite the widely publicized claims by the US, israel and some of their European allies that Iran’s nuclear program may potentially involve a weaponize diversion, Iran insists on its civilian nature, arguing that as a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and an IAEA member it has the right to develop and acquire nuclear technology for peaceful purposes.