Iranian leader tells Abe Trump ‘not worthy’ of a reply to message
2019-06-14 11:11:19 source：Asahi Shimbun
June 14, 2019
LONDON -- Iran's supreme leader told Shinzo Abe on Thursday there was no point even replying to a message the Japanese prime minister had brought to Tehran from Donald Trump, as a peacemaking visit was overshadowed by attacks on tankers in the Gulf of Oman.
Attacks on the two tankers were the latest incident to escalate confrontation between the United States and Iran after weeks of tightening U.S. sanctions and a war of words.
One of the tankers hit on Thursday was Japanese, and Iran's foreign minister tweeted that it was "suspicious" that the attacks took place during Abe's visit to Tehran.
Japan was one of the main buyers of Iranian oil until last month, when Washington ordered all countries to halt all Iranian oil imports or face sanctions of their own. Abe, who had discussed Iran with Trump last month, brought a message from the U.S. president, but Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei rebuffed it.
Read more: