Iran’s foreign minister meets Japanese counterpart in rare Tokyo trip
Hossein Amir-Abdollahian's visit to Japan comes amid mounting tensions in the region over Iran’s nuclear activities and attacks on commercial vessels in the Gulf.
Iran’s Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian met with his Japanese counterpart, Yoshimasa Hayashi, during a visit to Tokyo on Monday.
The two officials discussed the latest regional developments as well as bilateral ties and cooperation. According to a press release by the Japanese Foreign Ministry, the pair agreed to advance relations in various fields, including medical, environment and disaster risk reduction.
On the Iranian nuclear file, Hayashi expressed concerns over Iran’s growing nuclear activities, calling for its “full and unconditional cooperation” with the International Atomic Energy Agency, per the press release. For his part, Amir-Abdollahian vowed to advance dialogue with Japan on this issue.
The visit to Japan comes as the United States and the West are turning up pressure on Iran over its nuclear activities at a time when negotiations on a return to the 2015 nuclear deal — known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action — remain frozen. Tensions are high in the region amid a US military deployment in the Persian Gulf that the Pentagon says is a move to deter Iran from attempting to seize commercial oil tankers in Gulf waterways. Meanwhile, Washington has repeatedly accused Tehran of sending drones and providing drone technology to Russia in its war on Ukraine, which Iran denies.
