TEHRAN - Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said that Japan has informed Iran about its decision to send warships to the Middle East to reinvigorate its data and information, noting that Tokyo is still resolved to continue close relations with Tehran. 

“We explained it to Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araqchi, during his visit to Japan and his meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, that Tokyo is increasing its defense forces in the Middle East to bolster its data and information (spectrum),” Suga said. 

“Abe told Araqchi on Tuesday that Tokyo has decided to dispatch more defense forces (naval fleet) to the Middle Eastern region to promote its capabilities in collecting information to be sure about safe movement of ships in the region,” he further said. 

In the meantime, Kyodo reported that Japan is trying to have share in protecting fleets passing through the Strait of Hormuz with joining the U.S-led coalition. 

However, Araqchi, who was on an official visit to Japan, told Japan’s state TV that his country is opposed to Tokyo’s decision of forwarding fleet of warships to the Middle East. 

In November, Iran warned that the U.S-led naval coalition which officially launched operations in Bahrain would further exacerbate the security conditions in the region, calling on neighbors to rely on their own power.

"History shows that the U.S.-led coalitions have always been nothing but unfit names that have not contributed to security so far and further fomented more insecurity and instability in different parts of the world," Foreign Ministry spokesman Seyed Abbas Mousavi said.

He said the U.S. misuses other countries' name to legitimize its unilateral presence

Mousavi noted that the U.S. leadership of a naval coalition in the Persian Gulf indicates Washington's weakness and lack of international legitimacy.

He called on the regional states to rely on their own and their neighbors' capacities to establish sustainable and all-out security in the region.

"The Islamic Republic of Iran as a country with lengthiest coastline in the Persian Gulf will continue safeguarding its economic and security interests, including the security and safety of shipping, with maximum power," he added.

MJ/PA