Report: Japan Urges US to Make Sure Sanctions Not Hurting Trade with Iran

FARSNEWS2018/10/12
Report: Japan Urges US to Make Sure Sanctions Not Hurting Trade with Iran
TEHRAN (FNA)- Japanese Finance Minister Taro Aso called on his US counterpart Steven Mnuchin to ensure that Japanese firms would not suffer from Washington's sanctions on Iran.

The Japanese minister told a press conference he had relayed to Mnuchin his

"I hope that Japan's concerns are addressed," Kyodo news agency quoted Aso as relaying to his US counterpart.

The US and Japanese finance ministers met in Bali, Indonesia, on the sidelines of a gathering of finance leaders from the Group of 20 major economies, which Mnuchin used to promote US sanctions snapping back against Iran's oil sector in about three weeks.

Japanese officials have said Iran's oil is "extremely important" to their country's energy security; Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) Hiroshige Seko said last month Japan "intends to have talks with the US tenaciously in order to continue Iranian crude oil imports".

US President Donald Trump has pledged to bring Iran's oil imports down to zero. On Thursday, he said the US "will take care" of countries which defy the directive.

"We will take care of them," Trump told reporters when asked about the decision of some countries like India and China to continue to purchase oil from Iran.

Indian Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said last Monday that two state refiners have placed orders for importing crude oil from Iran in November.