December 21, 2019

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Friday briefed Iranian President Hassan Rouhani on Tokyo's plan to send naval forces to the Middle East to protect Japanese vessels, a Japanese official said.

Rouhani said in response that he understood Japan's intention to contribute to navigational safety, the official told a media briefing after the two leaders met in Tokyo.

"I'm highly concerned about tensions running high in the Middle East," Abe told Rouhani at the start of the meeting.

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