News / Politics

Iran, Japan FMs discuss US-made catastrophe in Afghanistan

Sunday, 22 August 2021 10:31 AM [ Last Update: Sunday, 22 August 2021 10:41 AM ]

Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif (R) elbow bumps his Japanese counterpart, Toshimitsu Motegi, in Tehran on August 22, 2021. (Photo by IRNA)

Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif says he has exchanged views with his Japanese counterpart, Toshimitsu Motegi, on a range of issues, including “the catastrophic US-engineered situation in Afghanistan.”

Zarif made the remarks in a tweet after a meeting with Motegi in Tehran on Sunday, which came one week after the Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan following the United States’ abrupt military withdrawal that put an end to a futile two-decade war.

The ill-prepared US pullout plunged Afghanistan into chaos, with thousands of people still at Kabul’s international airport racing to flee the South Asian country.

Zarif said in addition to the Afghan situation, the two sides discussed the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, officially titled the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), as well as ties between Tehran and Tokyo.

“Pleased to host Japanese FM Motegi in Tehran on Sunday,” he wrote. “In what is probably my last meeting with a counterpart as Iran’s foreign minister, we discussed strengthening bilateral relations, how to resuscitate the JCPOA and the catastrophic US-engineered situation in Afghanistan.”

Pleased to host Japanese FM Motegi in Tehran on Sunday.

In what is probably my last meeting with a counterpart as Iran’s foreign minister, we discussed strengthening bilateral relations, how to resucitate the JCPOA and the catastrophic US-engineered situation in Afghanistan. pic.twitter.com/HBkJDcfpAr
— Javad Zarif (@JZarif) August 22, 2021

Also on Sunday, Motegi met with Ali Shamkhani, secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council (SNSC).

The top Japanese diplomat arrived in Tehran on Saturday night for a two-day visit at the invitation of Zarif.

Japan’s FM to visit Iran for high-level talks on bilateral ties, regional issues

Japan’s Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi is scheduled to visit Iran as part of a tour of the Middle East meant to discuss regional security and the response to the coronavirus pandemic.

Earlier, Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh said, “Relations between Iran and Japan, as two important powers in the West and East Asia, have always been important. The two states have enjoyed friendly relations over the 90 years of diplomatic ties, which are based on common interests. Currently, consultations are underway between the two countries at the highest levels regarding bilateral and multilateral issues.”

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