Japan gets Iran's backing on plans to deploy SDF personnel to Middle East

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani on Friday gave a nod to Japan's plan to deploy Self-Defense Forces (SDF) personnel to the Middle East.

In talks with Rouhani in Tokyo, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe briefed the former on the envisaged dispatch in detail and the Iranian leader expressed appreciation for Japan's efforts to make its own initiative "transparent", reported Kyodo news citing a senior Japanese government official.

Xinhua, in its report, stated that the plan proposes that a helicopter-carrying destroyer and a P-3C patrol plane be sent to the region along with around 250 troops, who may be based in or around the Gulf of Oman, or the Bab el-Mandeb Strait.

Japan has decided to conduct its information-gathering and security operations independent of a US-led coalition to ensure maritime security in the Strait of Hormuz. However, Iran had previously told Tokyo that it does not believe the presence of any foreign power in the region would help boost stability or peace.