With the tone rising by the day between Iran and the West over Tehran’s nuclear drive, Asia is staying cool, preserving warm ties with the Islamic republic whose oil it desperately needs. Asia feels little direct threat from Iran’s populist President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, even as his quest for nuclear technology and bellicose diatribes against Israel earn him pariah status in the United States and Europe.

Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki after difficult talks in Brussels in mid-February headed on a tour of more friendly Asia. He is due in Japan Monday after visits to Indonesia and Thailand.

Jang Group