Iran won’t produce nuclear weapons, Khamenei tells Abe

June 13, 2019

Tehran, June 13 (Jiji Press)--Iran will not produce, possess or use nuclear weapons, and has no intention ever to do these, the country's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei told Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe at their first-ever meeting, in Tehran, on Thursday.

Abe called on Iran to enter into dialogue with the United States to ease tensions that have intensified since Washington unilaterally announced its decision last year to withdraw from the historic 2015 nuclear deal, signed between Iran and six world powers including the United States.

At the Tehran meeting, Abe quoted U.S. President Donald Trump as saying at their recent talks that Washington does not hope to see any escalation in the Middle East tensions.

"Concerns are growing over the increasing tensions, and there are complicated feelings among people of the two countries toward each other," Abe told reporters after the meeting.

"Under the circumstances, it is extremely important for the top leaders of the two countries to have intentions toward easing the tensions," the prime minister added.

"I could see (at the meeting with Khamenei) Iran's resolve for peace," Abe said, adding, "This marked a major progress toward ensuring peace and stability in the region." Abe is the first sitting Japanese prime minister to meet with the Iranian supreme leader, who is known for his hard-line stance against the United States.

In 1989, Khamenei, an Islamic scholar, became the theocracy's supreme leader, who has the final say in important national matters and is head of the judicial, legislative and administrative bodies, as well as the military. The position of the supreme leader is superior to the country's president.

At a meeting with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani in Tehran on Wednesday, Abe called on Iran, which has strong influence on neighboring countries, to contribute to stabilizing the Middle East situation and conveyed Japan's position of supporting the Iran nuclear deal.

Rouhani told Abe that Iran does not want war.

Under the 2015 accord, the United States and others lifted sanctions on Iran in exchange for restrictions on its nuclear activities.

According to Japan's Foreign Ministry, Khamenei's meeting with Abe was his first contact with a Western leader since February 2017, when he met with Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Lofven.

Abe is the first incumbent Japanese prime minister to visit Iran since Takeo Fukuda made a trip to the country in 1978, before the 1979 Iranian Revolution. This year marks the 90th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Japan and Iran.

Japan depends on the Middle East for nearly 90 pct of its crude oil imports. Jiji Press