The diplomatic movement for the mediation between the United States and Iran has taken a serious turn on Thursday.
Iran has put an end to the unofficial reports on Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s visit to the Republic.
Spokesman for the Japanese government officially confirmed Abe's visit to Tehran, in an effort to reduce tensions between the latter and Washington.
Japan is arranging for Abe’s visit to Iran in the near future, the spokesman said, adding that details of the trip are being worked out.
Japanese media has said the visit would take place next week, but Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga declined to specify a date or say whether Abe would meet Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and President Hassan Rouhani.
“We will make efforts to make it meaningful,” Suga told a regular news conference about the trip, according to Reuters.
Abe will be the first sitting Japanese prime minister to visit Iran in more than four decades, the agency added.
The trip comes amid escalating tension between Iran and the United States and a year after the United States pulled out of a deal between Iran and global powers to curb its nuclear program in return for lifting sanctions.
On a visit to Japan late last month, US President Donald Trump welcomed Abe’s help in dealing with Iran after public broadcaster NHK had said Japan’s leader was considering a trip to Tehran.
Japan is keen to see stability in the Middle East as the bulk of its oil imports come from the region, although it recently stopped buying oil from Iran because of US sanctions.
Diplomatic experts said the most Abe could probably achieve would be to persuade Iran and the United States to resume direct talks and dial down tension.
Both sides may be seeking a face-saving way out of the confrontation, they said, and Abe is well placed to help out.
“The best that Abe can say is to propose to Iran’s Supreme Leader to sit down with the US President without any pre-conditions,” said a former Japanese diplomat who declined to be identified because of the sensitivity of the subject.
Japan and Iran have long had friendly ties and are celebrating the 90th anniversary of diplomatic relations this year. Abe has forged warm relations with Trump.
German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas will travel to Tehran to meet his Iranian counterpart Mohammad Zarif and discuss maintaining the nuclear deal, a ministry spokesperson announced Thursday.
Russia, for its part, said it was negotiating with the European Union to join the special payment mechanism launched by European countries late January.
