Japan, Iran Want Continued U.S. Commitment to Nuclear Deal

Brussels, April 25 (Jiji Press)--Japan and Iran share the view that the United States needs to maintain its commitment to a nuclear deal with Tehran, Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono said Wednesday. Tokyo and Tehran reaffirmed the importance of upholding the 2015 agreement between Iran and world powers, Kono told reporters after a meeting with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif in Brussels. Kono and Zarif met on the sidelines of an international conference on Syria, in which donor countries pledged 4.4 billion dollars in financial assistance to the Middle Eastern country for 2018, including 14 million dollars from Japan. The Japanese foreign minister said that when addressing the Syria crisis, a top priority is on evacuees and refugees, calling for continued assistance to them. Referring to an inter-Korean summit set for Friday, Kono said Japan is closely watching whether there will be moves to pave the way for North Korea's abandonment of its nuclear and missile programs and for an immediate solution to the issue of Pyongyang's abductions of Japanese citizens. END