Japan Arranging for PM Abe Visit to Iran in near Future – Govt Spokesman

FILE PHOTO: Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, left, and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, right, shake hands at Abe's official residence in Tokyo Thursday, May 16, 2019. Eugene Hoshiko/Pool via REUTERS

TOKYO, June 6 (Reuters) – The Japanese government is arranging for Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to visitĀ IranĀ in the near future, the government spokesman said on Thursday.

Details of the trip, which Japanese media has said would take place next week, were still being worked out, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga told reporters at a regular briefing.

Abe’s possible trip comes amid escalating tension betweenĀ IranĀ and the United States and a year after Washington pulled out of a deal betweenĀ IranĀ and global powers to curb Tehran’s nuclear programme in return for lifting sanctions.

On a visit to Japan late last month, U.S. President Donald Trump welcomed Abe’s help in dealing withĀ IranĀ after public broadcaster NHK had said Japan’s leader was considering a trip to Tehran.

Abe would be the first Japanese sitting prime minister to visitĀ IranĀ in more than four decades.

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2019-05-28T033345Z_157787118_RC11ADC439B0_RTRMADP_3_JAPAN-USA
Abe wave after delivering a speech to Japanese and U.S. troops as they aboard Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force's (JMSDF) helicopter carrier DDH-184 Kaga at JMSDF Yokosuka base in Yokosuka, south of Tokyo, Japan, May 28, 2019. REUTERS/Athit Perawongmetha

(Reporting by Elaine Lies and Malcolm Foster; Editing by Nick Macfie)