Japan raises concerns over Iran’s nuclear enrichment and drone supplies to Russia for Ukraine war

By MARI YAMAGUCHI
Associated Press

TOKYO (AP) — Japan has expressed concerns over Iran’s advancing uranium enrichment program and its suspected supplying of combat drones to Moscow for Russia’s war on Ukraine. Japan’s Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi raised the two issues during talks on Monday with his visiting Iranian counterpart, Hossein Amirabdollahian, in Tokyo. Japan’s Foreign Ministry says Hayashi appealed for Iran to act constructively in the matter but did not elaborate. Iranian drones have been a key element of Russia’s continued war on Ukraine. Tehran has offered conflicting accounts about the drones — first denying Iran has supplied them to Russia and later claiming the unmanned aircraft were only sold before the Russian invasion.