The president made the comments during a visit by Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi to the White House for discussions regarding the war in Iran.
WASHINGTON—President Donald Trump welcomed Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi to the White House on Thursday for bilateral discussions regarding the war in Iran, and signaled that he is not inclined to send ground troops into the Middle East.
“No, I’m not putting troops anywhere,” Trump told reporters during the meeting. “If I were, I would not tell you, but I’m not putting troops.”
He likened the war to a temporary exercise and suggested the global community will benefit from his actions.
“We’re doing this excursion, and when we’re completed, we’re going to have a much safer world,” Trump said. “We’re defending the Strait for everyone else.”
The prime minister cautioned that uncertainty regarding the war and global energy supply chains is affecting all nations.
“Right now, the situation in the Middle East, also the entire world, we are currently experiencing a very severe security environment,” Takaichi said. “Also, the global economy is now about to experience a huge hit because of this development.”
“But even against that backdrop, I firmly believe that it is only you, Donald, who can achieve peace across the world,“ Takaichi continued. ”And to do so, I am ready to reach out to many of the partners in the international community to achieve our objective together.”
She said, “Japan condemns Iran’s actions” regarding its attacks on neighboring states and the Strait of Hormuz, and said she supports Trump in preventing the Iranian regime from obtaining a nuclear weapon.
The Japanese delegation included Ryosei Akazawa, minister of economy, trade, and industry; Motegi Toshimitsu, minister of foreign affairs; and Masanao Ozaki, deputy chief cabinet secretary; among others.
Discussions will include proposals the prime minister brought to “calm down the energy market” and the use of Japanese mine-sweeping ships—a complicated matter since Japan’s constitution only allows the use of such technology after a military conflict ends or for assisting allied nations under attack if the threat extends to Japanese territory.
“Today, I look forward to having a discussion about how we can cooperate to make our two nations, Japan and the United States, stronger and more prosperous,” Takaichi said, highlighting a need to focus on securing the Ind0-Pacific region.
