Tokyo says Japan’s Abe due in Iran next week amid US provocations

Tokyo says Prime Minister Shinzo Abe of Japan is set to pay an official visit to Iran as the two countries mark 90 years of diplomatic ties, with Japanese media reporting that the premier will also seek to lower heightened tensions between Tehran and Washington during the trip.

Japan’s Kyodo news agency said the Tokyo government outlined Abe’s plan for the Iran trip at a meeting with a parliamentary committee on Thursday.

According to the report, Abe will visit Tehran on June 12-14.

Meanwhile, an unnamed Japanese government official told AFP on Thursday that Tokyo was “still arranging details, including whom our prime minister will meet” during his upcoming trip to Tehran.

Other government officials also said Abe hopes to hold talks with Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei and Iranian President Hassan Rouhani.

Abe will become the first sitting Japanese prime minister to visit Iran in more than four decades as Tehran and Japan “celebrate their 90th year of diplomatic relations,” according to Kyodo.

Kyodo also said Abe will seek to mediate between the United States and Iran and encourage dialog between them in a bid to ease tensions between the two sides.

The plan for Abe’s Tehran visit was first reported last month.

SS