By Riyaz ul Khaliq
ANKARA (AA) – Amid tensions triggered by the U.S. killing last week of Iranian Gen. Qasem Soleimani, Japan’s premier has reportedly cancelled a trip to the Middle East, local media reported on Wednesday.
Shinzo Abe was scheduled to pay bilateral visits to Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Oman starting on Saturday, Kyodo news reported.
The decision by Tokyo to stop Abe from traveling to the region came in the wake of Iran launching missiles targeting U.S. bases in Iraq early Wednesday, in retaliation for the Soleimani killing, the report added.
Soleimani was killed in a U.S. drone strike outside Baghdad International Airport last Friday along with Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, the senior commander of Iraq’s Hashd al-Shaabi force, and eight others.
Soleimani's death marked a dramatic escalation in tensions between the U.S. and Iran, which rose in 2018 when President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew the U.S. from a 2015 nuclear pact with Tehran.
The premier’s trip was linked to Tokyo’s plans to deploy Japanese forces to the Gulf of Oman, the northern part of the Arabian Sea, and the Bab el-Mandeb Strait connecting the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.
Japan, the world’s number three economy, imports about 90% of its crude oil from the Middle East.
The Japanese mission to the region is said to help secure the safe passage of commercial ships.
Speaking to reporters in Japan today, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said: "We are deeply worried by growing tensions in the Middle East and a further escalation should be avoided.”
"We ask all parties involved to exhaust diplomatic efforts to ease the tensions," Kyodo quoted Japan’s top government spokesman as saying.
