Turkey and Japan are ready to mediate between the United States and Iran in order to ease the deepening tensions between the two nations, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Thursday
ANKARA (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 04th July, 2019) Turkey and Japan are ready to mediate between the United States and Iran in order to ease the deepening tensions between the two nations, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Thursday.
"When we talked with [Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo] Abe [during the G20 summit in Osaka], he asked me if we can act together in such a case. And I answered, 'why not?'" Erdogan said, as quoted by the Daily Sabah newspaper, hinting that Ankara and Tokyo were ready to mediate the ongoing row.
Tensions between Washington and Tehran are gradually escalating and at risk of transforming into something more dangerous than just a diplomatic spat. The starting point of the crisis was May 2018, when the United States abruptly pulled out of the landmark Iran nuclear deal, a decision that raised eyebrows even among its allies.
What followed were extensive US sanctions targeting Iran's defense, economy and aviation sectors, resulting in Tehran announcing this past May its partial withdrawal from the deal. The middle Eastern nation gave the European Union until July 7 to decide on the deal's future.
In its latest attempt to call for talks, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani urged the United States to start adhering to the deal and participate in negotiations. He further affirmed his country's commitment to the nuclear deal and said Iran would be 100 percent compliant with it as soon as all other signatories were.
Rouhani, however, noted that Tehran was partially discontinuing its commitments under the accord in a bid to salvage it. Reacting to Rouhani's statement, US President Donald Trump recommended that Tehran "be careful with the treats."
