Washington, June 15 (IANS) U.S. President Donald Trump spoke over phone with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Iran and bilateral trade.

The two leaders on Friday discussed Abe’s recent trip to Iran, the ongoing U.S.-Japan bilateral trade negotiations and Trump’s upcoming trip to the Group of 20 (G20) Osaka summit in late June, Xinhua reported, citing a White House statement.

“President Trump thanked Abe for his effort to facilitate communication with Iran,” said the statement.

Abe paid a visit to Iran earlier this week, which was the first visit made by a Japanese prime minister since Takeo Fukuda in 1978.

The rare visit aimed at easing tensions between Washington and Tehran.

Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, however, told Abe on Thursday that it was meaningless to exchange message with Trump, according to Iranian state media.

“While I very much appreciate P.M. Abe going to Iran to meet with Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, I personally feel that it is too soon to even think about making a deal. They are not ready, and neither are we!” Trump tweeted on Thursday.

Abe’s visit was also overshadowed by the attacks on two oil tankers in the Sea of Oman on Thursday, with at least one of them operated by a Japanese company.

The Trump administration has claimed that Iran is responsible for the attacks, while Tehran called U.S. allegation as “sabotage diplomacy.” </s> Japan "resolutely denounces" attacks on two oil tankers near the Strait of Hormuz, regardless of who is responsible for them, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said Friday after speaking with U.S. President Donald Trump by phone.

Abe, who returned to Tokyo in the morning from a two-day visit to Tehran, did not name any country suspected of being behind the attacks, while the United States has already pointed fingers at Iran.

Amid escalating tensions in the Middle East, Abe instead said Japan will work closely with the United States and the international community for peace and stability in the region.

"I believe that all parties concerned should exercise restraint to prevent from causing unforeseen situations and refrain from any action that could escalate tensions," Abe also told reporters at his office in Tokyo shortly after the phone conversation that lasted about 30 minutes.

While Thursday's attacks on the tankers, including one operated by a Japanese company, have raised fears of a new confrontation between Washington and Tehran, Abe said, "U.S. President Trump expressed appreciation for my visit to Iran and efforts (toward easing tensions)."

According to the White House, Trump thanked Abe for his effort to facilitate communication with Iran. They discussed Abe's recent trip to Tehran and the circumstances surrounding the attacks on the two tankers.

The two leaders also touched on negotiations for a Japan-U.S. trade agreement and Trump's visit to Japan for a Group of 20 summit slated for June 28 and 29 in Osaka, it said in a brief statement.

The United States has released footage purportedly showing an Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps patrol boat removing an unexploded mine from the Japanese-operated Kokuka Courageous in the Gulf of Oman, one of the world's most important sea lanes. But Iran has denied the allegations.

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Thursday that Washington's judgment is based on "intelligence, the weapons used, the level of expertise needed to execute the operation, recent similar Iranian attacks on shipping, and the fact that no proxy group operating in the area has the resources and proficiency to act with such a high degree of sophistication."

During his visit to Iran, Abe sought to broker dialogue between the two foes, tapping into Tokyo's traditionally friendly ties with Tehran.

Abe conveyed Trump's message that Washington is ready to open talks with Tehran, but Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei on Thursday flatly rejected the proposal.

"I do not consider Trump as a person worth exchanging any message with and I have no answer for him, nor will I respond to him in the future," Khamenei, who ultimately decides on Iran's policy direction, told Abe, who became the first sitting Japanese prime minister to visit the country in 41 years.

Khamenei also said in a statement, released after meeting with Abe, that Iran believes "problems will not be solved by negotiating with the United States, and no free nation would ever accept negotiations under pressure." </s> On Historic Visit To Iran, Japan's Abe Hopes To Play Role Of Mediator With U.S.

Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is set to arrive in Iran on Wednesday to begin a historic trip to the Middle Eastern country where he is expected to try to mediate escalating tensions between Washington and Tehran.

Abe's two-day visit is the first to Iran for a Japanese premier since Takeo Fukuda in 1978.

Speaking at Tokyo's Haneda Airport just before departing, Abe acknowledged "rising tensions" in the Middle East and said, "Japan wants to do as much as possible towards peace and stability in the region."

During his visit, Abe plans to meet separately with Iran's president, Hassan Rouhani, and Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

At a news conference in Tokyo, Japan's Chief Secretary Yoshihide Suga said Abe had spoken by telephone for about 20 minutes on Tuesday with President Trump and that the two leaders had "exchanged views on regional issues, including the situation in Iran."

Relations between the U.S. and Iran have been particularly strained since Washington withdrew from the 2015 nuclear accord, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), re-imposed sanctions on Tehran and dispatched an aircraft carrier strike group and B-52 bombers to the region.

Although specifics of Tuesday's conversation between Abe and Trump were not made public, The Japan Times reports that "Abe is likely to have reiterated his intention of encouraging Iran, with which Japan has traditionally maintained friendly relations, to engage in dialogue."

In a joint news conference with President Trump in Tokyo last month, Abe pledged to do whatever he could to mediate.

Japan had relied heavily on Iranian oil, but has cut imports to comply with U.S. sanctions.

Reuters, quoting unnamed Iranian officials, said Iran plans to ask Abe to mediate with the U.S. to ease those sanctions.

Although Tokyo and Tehran have long enjoyed close relations, Tokyo's strong ties with the U.S. have raised concern among conservatives in Iran.

In a reference to the U.S. atomic bombs dropped on Japan during World War II, one hard line newspaper in Iran, Farheekhtegan, or Educated, published a photo of a mushroom cloud with the headline "How Can You Trust a War Criminal, Mr. Abe?" </s> DUBAI, June 12 — Iran will ask Japan to mediate between Tehran and Washington to ease oil sanctions imposed by the United States, Iranian officials told Reuters ahead of a visit to Iran by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

Abe, who is the first Japanese leader to visit Iran since its 1979 Islamic Revolution, arrives in Tehran as heightened tensions between Iran and the United States raise fears of another military conflict in the crisis-hit Middle East.

“Japan can help easing the ongoing tension between Iran and America ... as a goodwill gesture, America should either lift the unjust oil sanctions or extend the waivers or suspend them,” a senior Iranian official told Reuters.

Another official said “Mr. Abe can be a great mediator to facilitate that.”

On a four-day visit to Japan last month, US President Donald Trump welcomed Abe’s help in dealing with Iran.

Strains between Washington and Tehran have sharply increased in recent weeks, a year after the United States abandoned a 2015 nuclear agreement between Iran and world powers to curb Tehran’s nuclear programme in exchange for the lifting of sanctions.

Washington tightened sanctions from the start of May, ordering all countries and companies to halt imports of Iranian oil or be banished from the global financial system.

It has also dispatched extra troops to the region to counter what it describes as Iranian threats. — Reuters </s> US President Donald Trump discussed with Japanese Premier Shinzo Abe Friday recent attacks on two oil tankers in the Gulf of Oman, Anadolu Agency reports.

The telephone call follows the conclusion of Abe’s recent visit to Iran in which he sought to diffuse simmering tensions between Washington and Tehran that hit a boiling point Thursday when the ships were attacked.

The leaders discussed the visit as well as the “circumstances surrounding the attacks,” the White House said in a statement.

“President Trump thanked Prime Minister Abe for his effort to facilitate communication with Iran,” the White House said.

Trump said Thursday it is “too soon” for the U.S. to engage in nuclear talks with Iran just minutes before Washington blamed Tehran for the attacks on the oil tankers near the Gulf of Oman, which is a critical waterway for the global energy trade.

Shortly after meeting with Abe, Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said in remarks carried by Iranian state news agency FARS that he did not see Trump as deserving of a message from him.

“I do not consider Trump, as a person, deserving to exchange messages with. We will not negotiate with the United States,” he said, according to FARS.

Tensions between Washington and Tehran have been at a fever pitch since Trump unilaterally withdrew the U.S. in May 2018 from an international pact aimed at reigning in Iran’s nuclear program in exchange for billions of dollars in relief from economic sanctions.

The Trump administration has since gone on to attempt to scuttle the agreement, which all other signatories — France, Russia, Germany, the UK, China, Iran and the EU — remain a party to.

The attempts to undermine the deal have included the reimposition of US sanctions on Iran oil exports that were lifted as part of the agreement.

That decision, in particular, drew strong condemnation from Iran amid a near-ceaseless diplomatic and economic effort the administration terms its “maximum pressure campaign” to bring Iran back to negotiations that would address its nuclear program and other regional activities the US says are destabilising.

Japan PM to meet Iran’s Khamenei to mediate with US

Also on Thursday, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo accused Iran of being responsible for the attacks near the Strait of Hormuz, describing the attacks as part of “an unacceptable campaign of escalating tension by Iran.”

The top diplomat said the US assessment is based on intelligence, the weapons that were used, the level of expertise needed to carry out the attacks, as well as other recent attacks on ships in the region the US has blamed on Iran.

The US on Friday released grainy video footage it says shows Iranian forces removing a mine from the hull of one of the ships that came under attack. The tanker, the Kokuka Courageous, is Japanese owned.

The strait is vital waterway with roughly one-third of the world’s liquefied natural gas and a fifth of its oil consumption transiting through it each day. </s> DUBAI (Reuters) - Iran will ask Japan to mediate between Tehran and Washington to ease oil sanctions imposed by the United States, Iranian officials said ahead of a visit by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

Abe, the first Japanese leader to visit Iran since its 1979 Islamic Revolution, arrives in Tehran as brewing confrontation between Iran and the United States stokes fear of another military conflict in the crisis-ridden Middle East.

“Japan can help in easing the ongoing tension between Iran and America... As a goodwill gesture, America should either lift the unjust oil sanctions or extend the waivers or suspend them,” a senior Iranian official told Reuters.

On a four-day visit to Japan last month, U.S. President Donald Trump welcomed Abe’s help in dealing with Iran, highlighting what he called the “very good relationship” between Tokyo and Tehran.

As a U.S. ally that also has good diplomatic relations with Iran, Japan could be in a unique position to mediate between the Islamic Republic and the United States.

“Mr. Abe can be a great mediator to facilitate that (easing of oil sanctions)...Japan has always respected Iran and Mr. Abe can play a very constructive role to calm the ongoing tension that can harm the (Middle East) region,” said another Iranian official, who asked not to be named.

Strains between Washington and Tehran have sharply increased in recent weeks, a year after the United States abandoned a 2015 nuclear agreement between Iran and world powers to curb Tehran’s nuclear program in exchange for the lifting of sanctions.

Washington, calling the nuclear deal flawed and seeking to push Iran into new negotiations, intensified sanctions from the start of May, ordering all countries and firms to halt imports of Iranian oil or be banished from the global financial system.

It has also dispatched extra armed forces to the region to counter what it describes as Iranian threats.

Iran threatened in May that in 60 days it would resume enrichment of uranium beyond the low fissile purity - suitable for civilian nuclear power generation - allowed under the deal, unless other powers signed up to it found a way to protect Iran’s oil and banking industries from U.S. sanctions.

European parties of the deal have promised to help Iran find other ways to trade, although with no success so far. All major European companies that had announced plans to invest in Iran have since called them off for fear of U.S. punishment.

Abe was to hold talks with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani on Wednesday afternoon following his arrival in Tehran, and on Thursday will meet the Islamic Republic’s top authority, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

“Japan wants to do as much as possible toward peace and stability in the Middle East,” Abe said in Tokyo, ahead of his departure, according to Iranian TV.

To achieve his aim of slashing Iran’s oil exports to zero, the Trump administration has revoked waivers since May that had allowed some countries, including Japan, to continue buying Iranian crude and has effectively ordered countries to stop purchasing Iranian oil or face sanctions of their own.

Despite pushing for imports to continue, Japan has stopped importing oil from Iran for now to avoid U.S. sanctions. </s> DUBAI (Reuters) - Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe warned of unintended clashes in the crisis-hit Middle East after meeting the Iranian president in Tehran on Wednesday, amid a brewing confrontation between Iran and the United States.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani shakes hands with Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, during a welcome ceremony in Tehran, Iran, June 12, 2019. Official Iranian President website/Handout via REUTERS

As a U.S. ally that also has good diplomatic relations with Iran, Japan could be in a unique position to mediate between the Islamic Republic and the United States.

“Armed conflict needs to be prevented at all costs. Peace and stability in the Middle East is indispensable not only for this region but for global prosperity. No one is hoping for war,” the Japanese leader said.

“We would like to play the maximum role we can for easing tension. That is what brought me to Iran,” said Abe, whose two-day visit is the first by a Japanese leader to Iran since its 1979 Islamic Revolution.

While Abe did not mention Japan’s currently suspended purchases of Iranian oil, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said that Japan wants to keep buying Iranian oil.

“In our meeting, Mr. Abe said that Japan was interested in continuing buying Iran’s oil,” Rouhani told a joint news conference with Abe, broadcast live on state TV.

Earlier, two Iranian officials told Reuters that Tehran would ask Tokyo to mediate between it and Washington to ease oil sanctions on Iran.

“America should either lift the unjust oil sanctions or extend the waivers or suspend them,” one senior official said.

To slash Iran’s oil exports, Washington has revoked waivers since May that had allowed some countries, including Japan, to continue buying Iranian crude and has effectively ordered countries to stop purchasing Iranian oil or face sanctions of their own.

Despite pushing for imports to continue, Japan has stopped importing oil from Iran for now to avoid U.S. sanctions.

On a visit to Japan last month, U.S. President Donald Trump welcomed Abe’s help in dealing with Iran, highlighting what he called the “very good relationship” between Tokyo and Tehran.

Strains between Washington and Tehran have sharply increased in recent weeks, a year after the United States abandoned a 2015 nuclear agreement between Iran and world powers to curb Tehran’s nuclear program in exchange for the lifting of sanctions.

“Iran will remain committed to the deal, which is important for the security of the region and the world. Tehran and Tokyo both oppose nuclear weapons,” said Rouhani.

TRUMP CRANKS UP PRESSURE ON IRAN

Washington, calling the nuclear deal flawed and seeking to push Iran into new negotiations, intensified sanctions from the start of May, ordering all countries and firms to halt imports of Iranian oil or be banished from the global financial system.

It has also dispatched extra armed forces to the region to counter what it describes as Iranian threats.

Iran has warned against any military aggression.

“Iran will never initiate a war but will give a crushing response to any aggression,” Rouhani said.

“The source of tensions is America’s staged economic war against Iran. As soon as this war ends, we shall see a very positive development in the region and in the world.”

Abe has talked to U.S. regional allies like Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who have supported Trump’s Iran policy.

Iran said in May that after 60 days it would resume its enrichment of uranium beyond the low fissile purity - suitable for civilian nuclear power generation - allowed under the deal, unless other powers stuck to their commitments under the 2015 nuclear deal.

European parties the deal have promised to help Iran find other ways to trade, although with no success so far.

Japan wants to do as much as possible towards peace and stability in the Middle East,” Abe said in Tokyo ahead of his departure, according to Iranian TV.

Slideshow (10 Images)

But just hours before Abe’s visit to Iran, Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels carried out a missile attack on a civilian airport in southern Saudi Arabia which wounded 26 people.

The Western-backed, Sunni Muslim alliance that has been battling the Houthis in Yemen said the attack was proof of Tehran’s support for what it called cross-border terrorism.

Abe will also meet the Islamic Republic’s top authority, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. </s> Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei categorically rejected the possibility of talks between Iran and the US in a meeting with Japan’s prime minister, saying the US president does not merit a response or exchange of messages.

Heading a high-ranking delegation, Prime Minister of Japan Shinzo Abe held a meeting with Ayatollah Khamenei in Tehran on Thursday morning.

At the beginning of the meeting, the Japanese prime minister said he intended to relay a message to Iran from US President Donald Trump.

In response, Ayatollah Khamenei told Abe, “We have no doubts about your goodwill and seriousness, but with regard to what you relayed from the US president, I see no merit in Trump as a person to deserve the exchange of any messages, and I do not have any answer for him and will not give him any either.”

As regards the Japanese premier’s comments about Trump’s assertion that Washington does not seek a regime change in Iran, Ayatollah Khamenei said Iran’s problem with the US does not relate to the issue of regime change, although the US would never achieve such an objective even if it wanted to.

“Trump’s claim that he does not intend to change the regime (in Iran) is a lie, because he would do this if he was able to, but he can’t,” Ayatollah Khamenei underlined.

On the Japanese leader’s message that the US has called for nuclear negotiations with Iran, the Leader said the US once reneged on an agreement that was reached after five to six years of negotiations with the US and Europeans. “So, which wise man would negotiate again with a country that has broken all agreements?”

In response to the Japanese leader’s comments that the US is resolved to prevent Iran from producing nukes, Ayatollah Khamenei underlined, “We are opposed to nuclear weapons and my religious fatwa is that production of nuclear weapons is haram (forbidden), but be mindful that if we ever intended to produce nuclear weapons, the US would not be able to do anything, and the American rejection would not pose any obstacle.”

Ayatollah Khamenei also noted that the US which has a stockpile of thousands of nuclear warheads is in no position to comment about nuclear weapons in the other countries.

In response to Abe’s comments that the US is ready for genuine talks with Iran, the Leader said, “We do not believe it at all, because sincere negotiations would not come from an individual like Trump.”

“Sincerity is very rare among the American officials,” the Leader noted.

Ayatollah Khamenei then stressed that Trump’s move to impose sanctions on Iran’s petrochemical industry immediately after returning from Japan shows that the US president is insincere and does not look for genuine talks.

“We will by no means repeat the bitter experience of negotiations with the US in the past recent years,” Ayatollah Khamenei underscored.

Touching on the US breach of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, the Leader said, “After the nuclear deal, the first one that violated the JCPOA immediately was (former US President Barack) Obama, the one who had made a request for talks with Iran and had sent a mediator too.”

In reaction to Abe’s message from Trump that negotiations with Washington would contribute to development of Iran, Ayatollah Khamenei said Iran will be making progress despite the sanctions and without any talks with the US.

The Leader also welcomed the Japanese premier’s call for the expansion of ties with Iran, adding, “Japan is an important country in Asia, and if it is willing to expand relations with Iran, then it should express its decisive determination, in a way that some major countries expressed such determination.”

Denouncing the US hostility towards the Iranian nation over the past forty years, Ayatollah Khamenei said, “We believe that our problems would not be solved through talks with the US, and no free nation would approve of negotiations under pressures.”

The Leader then hailed the Japanese prime minister’s assertion that Americans always seek to impose their thoughts and policies on the other countries, noting, “You had better also know that Americans are not content with any limit in imposing their stances.”

For his part, Abe expressed the hope that his political negotiations in Tehran would pave the way for the promotion of cooperation between Iran and Japan.

Abe arrived in Tehran on Wednesday and became the first Japanese leader to visit Iran in more than 4 decades.

In a meeting with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani on Wednesday evening, Abe said the main purpose of his trip to Iran is to ease the tensions, and expressed hope that his visit would result in the reduction of tensions and establishment of peace in the region. </s> TOKYO (AP) — Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will visit Iran in an effort to reduce tensions between Tehran and Washington, Japan’s government spokesman said Thursday. Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said Abe’s trip will…

TOKYO (AP) — Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will visit Iran in an effort to reduce tensions between Tehran and Washington, Japan’s government spokesman said Thursday.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said Abe’s trip will be the first by a Japanese leader to Iran in 41 years. He declined to specify the dates of the trip or other details, but said it would be “soon.” Officials are finalizing the details so the visit will be meaningful, Suga said.

Kyodo News and other local media said Abe will visit Tehran on June 12-14 and meet with Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and President Hassan Rouhani.

Tensions between the U.S. and Iran have worsened since Washington withdrew last year from a nuclear deal between Iran and several world powers, and re-imposed sanctions on Tehran.

“With tensions intensifying in the Middle East, I believe it is extremely important to try to alleviate tension, encourage Iran to abide by the nuclear agreement and play a constructive role for regional stability,” Suga said. “We will actively work toward a peaceful resolution.”

Foreign Minister Taro Kono is expected to travel to Tehran to meet with his counterpart, Mohammad Javad Zarif, on June 12 to pave the way for Abe’s visit.

Abe proposed the trip to President Donald Trump during a visit by the U.S. leader to Japan in late May and received his support.

Resource-poor Japan relies heavily on oil imports from the Middle East and has maintained friendly relations with Iran, though oil from that country now accounts for only about 5% of Japan’s total oil imports, down from 10% in the 2000s.

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U.S. President Donald Trump thanks Prime Minister of Japan Shinzō Abe by phone for his effort to mediate between the U.S. and Iran.