TEHRAN - Iranian Defense Minister Amir Hatami and his Japanese counterpart Taro Kono had a phone conversation on Friday, discussing the rising tension between Tehran and Washington.

To prevent tension in the region, the Iranian defense minister said, the United States must leave the region.

“It will be possible to end tension in the region if the United States’ occupying presence in the region comes to an end,” Hatami said.

Hatami said assassination of top Iranian military commander Qassem Soleimani in Baghdad on January 3 was a “big and unprecedented crime”.

“Based on the United Nations Security Council’s resolution, the United States’ action was a clear example of state terrorism,” he said.

He urged all countries to condemn the U.S. terrorist action.

He also noted that the U.S. regional presence is the main cause of tension and instability.

“The Islamic Republic of Iran, as the biggest littoral state in the Persian Gulf and the Sea of Oman, has always played its role in providing security and those who seek to help ease tension and create stability in the region must notify the United States to leave the region,” he said.

Kono said that Japan is ready to help de-escalation of tension in the region.

Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Wednesday that the United States’ “corruptive presence” in the region must come to an end.

“This region does not accept presence of the United States. The people in the region and the regional governments rising from the people do not accept this issue,” the Leader said during a speech in Qom.

NA/PA