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JAPAN PERSPECTIVE
PAKISTAN'S ARMY CHIEF IN IRAN AS US'S RUBIO SAYS 'SLIGHT PROGRESS' IN TALKS
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DOMINANT ANGLE
Tokyo retains the energy and financial impact of the crisis, while Pakistani mediation and calibrated statements from Rubio fuel cautious hope without dissipating uncertainty over Hormuz.
Dominant angle identified — does not reflect unanimity of this country’s media
ANALYSIS
Tokyo, May 22, 2026. Six weeks after the fragile ceasefire came into effect, diplomacy around the Iran-US crisis has intensified at the start of the weekend with the arrival in Tehran of General Asim Munir, Chief of Staff of the Pakistani armed forces. This visit is part of a multi-actor diplomatic ballet: Pakistani Interior Minister Syed Mohsin Naqvi had already held a new series of talks with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi, while a Qatari delegation, acting in coordination with Washington, also set foot in Iran on the same day.
From the US side, Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke from Helsingborg, Sweden, on the sidelines of a NATO ministers' meeting. His formula, carefully dosed, summarized the state of negotiations: 'There have been progress. I wouldn't exaggerate it. I wouldn't downplay it either. There's still work to be done. We're not there yet. I hope we get there.' This rhetoric of moderation contrasted with the firmness maintained on the central dossier of the Hormuz Strait: the Iranian project to establish a toll system for ships wishing to pass through this strategic passage remains, according to Rubio, 'unacceptable'.
The Strait concentrates the essential economic stakes of the crisis. Its closure since the outbreak of hostilities, on February 28, when US-Israeli airstrikes opened hostilities, has removed about a fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas supplies from the world market. This contraction of supply has triggered a surge in energy prices that fuels global inflationary fears. Financial markets reflected this ambivalence: the Dow Jones index reached a historic record on Friday, but US Treasury yields fell, signaling a flight to safe assets, while the dollar remained at its highest level in six weeks and oil continued its rise.
On the nuclear issue, positions remain far apart. Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei told the IRNA agency that diplomacy 'takes time' and that nuclear issues were not on the agenda. He specified that no agreement would be possible if Washington sought to address the details of the highly enriched uranium stockpiled by Tehran.
KEY POINTS
- General Asim Munir, Pakistani Chief of Staff, has arrived in Tehran for mediation talks, simultaneously with a Qatari delegation coordinated with Washington
- Rubio describes progress as real but limited and maintains that the Iranian project for a toll on Hormuz — through which a fifth of global oil and LNG passes — remains 'unacceptable'
- Iranian spokesman Baghaei (IRNA) indicated that nuclear issues are not on the agenda and that no agreement is imminent
COGNITIVE BIASES IDENTIFIED
Economic-financial framing: Japan Today prioritizes the impact on markets (Dow record, oil price, dollar) over the humanitarian dimensions of the conflict
Preference for official US sources: Rubio's statements are widely cited and contextualized, while Iranian and Pakistani positions remain more elliptical
Low coverage of civilian victims: thousands of deaths in Iran and Lebanon are mentioned in a single sentence without detail or regional perspective
SOURCES (1)
Japan Today
MEDIUM
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