Iran’s Rouhani to make first visit to Japan

Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani will visit Japan later this week in the first trip to the Islamic Republic by an Iranian head of state for two decades, official news agency IRNA reports Monday.

Rouhani will go to Tokyo on Friday, IRNA says, citing Iran’s vice foreign minister Abbas Araghchi.

Araghchi says the one-day visit will be “very intense” and that it comes as Iran faces maximum pressure from the US and a wide array of plots to isolate it internationally, IRNA reports.

Earlier, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi told a press conference in Tehran that the “trip [to Japan] is being finalized.”

Iranian government spokesman Ali Rabiei said discussions would focus on “expanding economic relations” between the two countries.

“Mr Rouhani’s trip to Japan has nothing to do with issues such as negotiations with America,” Rabiei said.

“However, our Japanese friends usually convey messages or initiatives, which we welcome… and seriously examine,” he added, stressing the bilateral focus of the visit.

Rouhani will be the first Iranian president to visit Japan since 2000.

— AFP