Japan PM meets Iran’s Supreme Leader Khamenei on mission to ease tensions

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe met Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Thursday as he sought to ease US tensions on the first visit by a Japanese premier since the 1979 revolution.

“Meeting with Mr. @AbeShinzo, the Prime Minister of Japan,” said a tweet on the leader’s official English-language Twitter account accompanied by photograph of the two men.

On Wednesday, after talks with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, Abe said that he discussed with Rouhani ways to avoid instability in the region, adding he strongly hopes Iran continues to observe the nuclear deal, in a joint press conference in Tehran.

The Japanese leader stressed that an armed clash in the Middle East needs to be prevented at all costs.