President Rouhani made the remarks in a meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in New York on Tuesday, adding “JCPOA is a significant international agreement reached between seven countries after tremendous attempts at negotiations, and we cannot allow a single country to arbitrarily undermine the deal.”
Noting Iran’s full compliance with the implementation of the nuclear deal as confirmed by seven reports from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), President Rouhani said “we will never initiate a violation of the international agreement and we hope that the other parties to the deal will also remain faithful to their legal and moral obligations.”
Rouhani then touched upon the areas for bilateral cooperation and investment with Japan, especially in oil, gas, petrochemicals, environmental protection, science and technology, energy consumption, Tourism, and ports development in Iran, adding “development of southern ports, including Chabahar, will play an important role in the development of Iran-Japan relations and the entire region, and Japanese investors and businesspeople can also invest in the development of ports and rail networks."
Rouhani called for the finalization of bank credits to further develop joint projects between the two counties, adding “we have taken some steps for facilitating banking transactions, but we still need a closer and wider banking cooperation between the two sides to further develop relations all economic, scientific and technological fields.”
Discussing regional developments, Rouhani hailed Iran’s good relations with Japan, South Korea and China for the stability and security of the East Asian region, stressing Tehran’s strong opposition to any kind of arms race.
“We want peace in the Korean Peninsula. Weapons of mass destruction are a peril to the whole world and we have made our stance explicitly clear against the use or the threat of using nuclear weapons,” Rouhani stressed, voicing Iran’s firm resolve to make every effort in line with establishing peace and stability in the region.
Talking about the Rohingya crisis and the displacement of more than 400,000 Muslims in Myanmar, Rouhani said pressure from the side of countries such as Japan on the Burmese government could help reduce the suffering of the Rohingya Muslims.
The Japanese prime minister, for his part, expressed hope to travel to Tehran in the near future, stressing that the Japanese government is willing to develop its relations with Iran in all areas of mutual interest.
Noting Japan's line of credit to Iran, Shinzo Abe voiced hope that the negotiations would yield result and accelerate the implementation of energy-related projects.
He also welcomed cooperation between Japan and Iran in medicine and environment, including the revival of Lake Urmia and climate issues.
The Japanese prime minister then reaffirmed his support of the JCPOA, saying “Iran is the axis of the Middle East and we call for all sides to live up to their commitments under the nuclear deal.”
Shinzo Abe further condemned North Korea's long-range missile launch, saying “the UN Security Council and the international community must unilaterally condemn this action by Pyongyang and put pressure on the country to change its way.”
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