Japan PM meets Rouhani on mission to ease Iran-US tensions

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe held talks with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani in Tehran on Wednesday during a rare diplomatic mission aimed at defusing tensions between the Islamic republic and Tokyo's ally Washington.

Abe, the first Japanese prime minister to visit Iran in 41 years, was received by Rouhani at the Sadabad presidential palace where they began a closed-door meeting, an AFP reporter said.

He is expected to meet Iran's supreme leader Ali Khamenei on Thursday morning.

Addressing a cabinet meeting ahead of the visit, Rouhani said Iran's leaders and people were united in their view that "the main culprit is America. Not a single individual doubts it."
In an accompanying article headlined "A samurai in Tehran," the paper said everyone was waiting to see "Tehran's reaction to Japan's initiative to raise its international standing by mediating as both Washington's ally and Iran's friend."