Tokyo [Japan],August 8:Japan has called on Iran not to provide weapons to Russia for its war against Ukraine.
In a meeting with his Iranian counterpart Hossein Amirabdollahian in Tokyo on Monday, Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi urged Iran to act "constructively" regarding Russia's war, Japan's Kyodo news agency reported. The West suspects Iran of supplying Moscow with drones for the war. Officially, both Iran and Russia deny this.
On his first trip to Japan during his tenure, Iran's foreign minister also asked Japan to release frozen assets, according to Iranian Foreign Office spokesman Nasser Kanaani.
Tehran is reportedly demanding some $1.5bn billion from Japan for oil exports that have been frozen under international sanctions. The reinstatement of the 2015 Vienna nuclear deal was also discussed. This is part of a wider diplomatic effort by signatories to the deal such as France, Germany and the United States to curb Iran's nuclear programme.
Former US president Donald Trump unilaterally backed out of the agreement in 2018 and imposed new, tough sanctions on Iran. This prompted Iran to begin building up its nuclear arsenal once again, after years of having put it on hold. Several world powers are now doing their best to negotiate Iran's re-entry into the deal. In exchange, they would get rid of some sanctions currently placed on Iran.
Iranian drones have been a key element of Russia's continued war on Ukraine. Tehran has offered conflicting accounts about the drones - first denying Iran has supplied them to Russia and later claiming the unmanned aircraft were only sold before the Russian invasion.
However, the number of Iranian-made drones used in the conflict shows a steady supply of the bomb-carrying weapons. In June, the White House said Iran was providing Russia with materials to build a drone manufacturing plant east of Moscow as the Kremlin looks to lock in a consistent stream of weapons. As US ally and a member of the Group of Seven advanced nations, Japan has joined sanctions against Moscow while providing Ukraine with humanitarian support and non-lethal defence equipment, largely because of fear that Russia's invasion could embolden an already assertive China in Asia.
Iran's state television said Amirabdollahian denied providing drones to Russia and insisted Tehran is focused on efforts for dialogue and finding a political solution to end the war. The report also quoted the top Iranian diplomat as saying the United States and the West should stop what he described as baseless accusations against Iran.
Hayashi also expressed serious concern about the expansion of Iran's nuclear activities and urged Tehran's full and unconditional cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency, the ministry added.
The ministry statement said Hayashi stressed Japan's support for the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, the 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and world powers that
curbed Iran's enrichment in return for halting economic sanctions on Iran.
Source: Qatar Tribune
