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Japan's Shinzo Abe has peacemaker role cut out for him after Gulf tanker strikes
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Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei talking to Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe during a meeting in Tehran, Iran, on June 13, 2019.
PHOTO: EPA-EFE
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TOKYO - Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe travelled to Teheran this week in a high-stakes bid to broker an uneasy peace between Iran and the United States, but ended up being caught in an awkward position after two oil tankers were attacked.
He had been upbeat after a rare meeting with Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, saying that "major progress has been made towards securing peace and stability in this region".
