Iran FM in Japan for nuclear talks

Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki has arrived in Japan for talks with the country’s high-ranking officials on Tehran’s nuclear program.

Mottaki arrived in Tokyo earlier on Sunday and was welcomed by Iranian Ambassador to Japan Seyyed Abbas Araqchi and Toshiro Suzuki, head of the Japanese foreign ministry’s Middle East and Africa department, IRNA reported.

Japan is currently a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council.

The visit comes about one week after Mottaki’s trip to Mexico, another non-permanent member of the Security Council.

Mottaki and his Japanese counterpart Katsuya Okada will discuss on Monday Iran’s nuclear program and the recent declaration by Iran, Brazil and Turkey on nuclear fuel swap.

Earlier in May, Iran, Turkey and Brazil issued a joint declaration in which Tehran agreed to ship about half of its low-enriched uranium to Turkey in exchange for the nuclear fuel it requires for its research reactor.

The declaration was welcomed by much of the international community as an important step toward resolving Iran’s nuclear issue through diplomatic means.

However, only one day after the declaration, the five veto-wielding members of the Security Council — Britain, China, France, Russia and the US — agreed on a US-proposed draft resolution for further sanctions against Iran.