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Officials: Iran to Ask Japan's Abe to Mediate Over US Oil Sanctions

Reuters

   DUBAI - Iran will ask Japan to mediate between Tehran and Washington to
   ease oil sanctions imposed by the United States, Iranian officials said
   Wednesday, as Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe arrived in the country
   for a two-day visit.

   Abe, the first Japanese leader to visit Iran since its 1979 Islamic
   Revolution, landed in Tehran as a 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.

   Iranian state TV broadcast live footage of Abe's arrival, saying he
   will later hold talks with President Hassan Rouhani and on Thursday
   will meet the Islamic Republic's top authority, Supreme Leader
   Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

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