A critical bilateral meeting with Japan’s Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi took place with Donald Trump at the White House. Critical because, so far, the Asian nation has not expressed any position regarding US and Israeli bombings in Iran. Trump, who has already supported Takaichi in connection with Japan’s recent elections, used the Prime Minister’s statement that she would operationally support the US in the war to criticize NATO for its absence. Specifically, with Japan’s Prime Minister saying, “Donald, I firmly believe you will bring world peace,” Trump expressed his conviction that the “land of the rising sun” would contribute to the war and launched his… poisonous dart: “Unlike NATO”. He reiterated that the US is conducting a “trip” to Iran: “I had to take this little trip and do something no other President had the courage to do,” he said characteristically, adding that the war “will end very quickly.” Furthermore, he emphasized he would not send “troops anywhere.” However, possibly bluffing, he added that “and if I did, I wouldn’t tell you.” He also repeated about Iran that: “Their navy has vanished, their air force has vanished, their anti-aircraft equipment has vanished, we fly wherever we want… their leadership has vanished.”
Donald Trump: “I told him not to do it and he won’t do it”
Sanae Takaichi, for her part, expressed Japan’s official positions to Trump. Specifically, she said that “Iran’s development of nuclear weapons must never be allowed and that’s why we, Japan, pressure them and communicate with other partners worldwide,” as reported by ERT, and added: “Japan condemns Iran’s actions, such as attacks in the neighboring region and also the de facto or substantial closure of the Strait of Hormuz.”
The US President clarified that Israel acts independently, however he requested that Benjamin Netanyahu not strike energy infrastructure, specifically oil and natural gas facilities in Iran, which are targets for capture rather than destruction. “I told him, don’t do that,” Trump said. “And he won’t do it.” Additionally, he expressed US ignorance regarding Israel’s attack on the South Pars natural gas field, the world’s largest natural gas reserve. However, Reuters reporting indicates that three Israeli officials denied that the US was unaware, while CNN also cited an Israeli source to contradict Donald Trump’s statement. Nevertheless, Trump clarified that he has a… free relationship with Israel, meaning the two countries’ armed forces are independent, yet they “get along great.” “It’s coordinated. But sometimes he does something, and if I don’t like it, we don’t do it anymore,” he said.
