With Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's visit to Iran, Japan is aiming to leverage its traditionally amicable ties to help de-escalate tensions in the Middle East, a critical region for the resource-poor country.One defining characteristic of diplomatic ties dating back to 1929 and marking the 90th anniversary this year is oil as Iran has been among major exporters of the energy source to Japan, along with Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.Abe's two-day visit to Iran through Thursday, the first trip by a sitting Japanese leader in more than four decades, comes as U.S. President Donald Trum…READ FULL ARTICLE
