Iwaya, Blinken Voice Concern about Middle East Tensions

Tokyo, Oct. 2 (Jiji Press)--Japanese Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Wednesday expressed serious concern about the potential escalation into a full-fledged war in the Middle East following Iran's missile attack on Israel.

The two ministers, speaking by phone, reaffirmed their strong condemnation of such escalation and agreed to work together to de-escalate the tensions, according to the Japanese Foreign Ministry.

Iwaya, who took office on Tuesday, told Blinken that he would like to work closely together with Blinken to further strengthen the Japan-U.S. alliance, which is stronger than ever.

The Japanese and U.S. ministers agreed to cooperate closely to strengthen the deterrence and response capabilities of the alliance and work together on economic security.

Iwaya and Blinken agreed to meet in person at an early date.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]