Minister of Foreign Affairs Gideon Sa’ar met today (Tuesday, 13 May 2025) in Tokyo with Japanese Minister of Foreign Affairs Takeshi Iwaya.
In their meeting, the two discussed the situation in the Middle East (Gaza and the negotiations to release hostages, Iran, Syria, and Lebanon), as well as bilateral relations between the countries.
FM Sa’ar on the negotiating delegation to Qatar:
“An Israeli negotiating delegation has left on our behalf for Qatar. In the coming days, we will endeavor to establish a framework for the release of the hostages, as we intended from the outset, in accordance with the Witkoff outline. We want to bring our hostages home and ensure
that Gaza no longer poses a threat to Israel and its citizens. We cannot continue to coexist alongside the Hamas terror state – this presents a persistent threat to Israel’s security and constantly undermines regional stability. They continue to hold our hostages in order to dictate conditions that will allow them to continue the war on Israel.”
On unilateral recognition of a Palestinian state:
“Unilateral action against Israel may provoke an Israeli response, pushing Israel into a corner. I urge Japan to reconsider such ideas, as they will only hinder peace.”
On a nuclear Iran:
“Iran is closer than ever to obtaining nuclear weapons. Iran truly wishes to destroy Israel. That is their plan. One does not require Intelligence to understand this – it is sufficient to follow Khamenei’s Twitter account.
Like Hamas, they have a fanatical religious view according to which Israel cannot hold any territory of our historical country, because it is supposedly ‘Islamic Waqf’ land. After what they have achieved directly and through their proxies in the Middle East without nuclear weapons – one can only imagine what they would do if, God forbid, they had nuclear weapons. This must not be allowed.”
