TOKYO: Iran’s Foreign Minister Amir Abdollahian will be meeting Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi today (Monday).
According to Japan foreign ministry, the visiting dignitary will also meet with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.
It is since 2019 that an Iran’s high-level official is visiting Japan. It is believed that Japan will press Iran to limit its ties with Russia.
It is important to note that the two countries have kept friendly ties since long despite the fact that the United States and Iran have been at loggerheads from Iranian Revolution.
Former Prime Minister of Japan Shinzo Abe visited Iran in 2019 and that happened nearly after four decades.
According to international foreign policy observers, Abe’s visit in 2019 was to seek Iran’s role in resolving the Middle East crisis while at the same time, it was presumed that Abe is making efforts to diffuse the tension between the United States and Iran.
The nuclear deal in past was withdrawn by the United States then President Donald Trump, resulting in tension between the two countries besides war of words.
Iran has been a major oil exporter to Japan but the volumes of export dropped owing to economic sanctions placed by the United States.
The two foreign ministers Yoshimasa Hayashi and Amir Abdollahian talked over the phone in the past, and last conversation between the two was reported in April this year.
The talks in April had Yoshimasa Hayashi supporting the nuclear deal made earlier that was withdrawn by the Trump administration but at the same time, the Japanese side insisted Iran on cooperating with International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
In the April talks, Hayashi showed Japan’s support for the revival of 2015 nuclear accord and insisted Iran to liaise with the International Atomic Energy Agency, the UN nuclear watchdog.
Iran and IAEA are in discussions even now and protocols are being discussed.
The withdrawal of the deal by US President Trump in 2015 has resulted in sanctions on Iran.
Iran was asked to give access to IAEA inspectors for assessing its nuclear capabilities and sites which went sour.
The nuclear accord if revived with Japanese support is expected to bring the temperature down in the tense relations between Iran and the United States.
