Motegi’s two-day trip to Tehran took place in the first days of the inauguration of the 13th administration in the Islamic Republic of Iran.
He met with his counterpart Mohammad Javad Zarif, secretary of the Supreme National Security Council Ali Shamkhani, international aide for Parliament speaker and proposed foreign minister of the new administration Hossein Amir Abdollahian, Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, and President Ebrahim Raisi.
The Japanese FM and the Iranian officials underlined the need for expansion of ties in political and economic arenas, discussing regional issues such as recent developments in Afghanistan as well as international topics such as the revival of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
In recent weeks, shipment of over one million doses of coronavirus Astrazeneca vaccines by the Japanese government to Iran has been on the spotlight of public opinion. The Japanese side announced that they dispatched the consignment with humanitarian purposes to help speed up vaccination process in the Islamic Republic.
During a meeting with Iranian president, the Japanese foreign minister stressed that the revival of the 2015 nuclear deal is of great importance, calling on President Raisi to return his country to the international accord.
Raisi answered that Tehran has no problem with the negotiation, noting that there is no justification for the US to continue imposing sanctions against the Iranian nation.
Ayatollah Raisi further called on the Japanese Government to release Iranian assets frozen in Japanese banks, adding that the freezing of Iranian assets in Japan is unjustifiable.
However, the Iranian president expressed gratitude to Tokyo for the delivery of corona vaccines to Iran, hoping for extending collaborations between the two nations to pave the way for uprooting the fatal disease in both countries and the whole world.
The Japanese foreign minister and Iran’s Foreign Ministry officials inked a memorandum of understanding on administrative cooperation between the two countries.
Some Japanese media claimed that the main objective of Motegi’s visit to Tehran has been mediation between the US and Iran, but Saeed Khatibzadeh, Foreign Ministry spokesman, ruled out the issue, emphasizing that the Japanese and Iranian sides discussed issues of mutual interests.
Seemingly, Japan is keen on using the inauguration of new administration in Iran as an opportunity to open a new chapter in relationship with the Islamic Republic.
Of course, Tokyo has a proper situation in the eyes of Western powers, so it can play a key role in mediating between the West and Iran and urge them to stop hostile stances towards Tehran.
Definitely, one of the objectives of Motegi’s trip to Iran was expressing readiness to cooperate to lift anti-Iranian sanctions.
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