ISLAMABAD (AP) — The Latest on developments in the Persian Gulf region and elsewhere in the Mideast amid heightened tensions between the U.S. and Iran (all times local): 5 p.m. Japanese media say Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is considering a visit to Iran next month amid rising tension between Tehran and Washington, and will consult with President Donald Trump about it when he arrives in Tokyo this weekend. The Kyodo News agency, citing unidentified government sources, said on Friday that Abe’s visit would be likely in mid-June. Abe, who reportedly hopes to serve as mediator between the U.S. and Iran, will seek Trump’s consent during his upcoming visit, starting Saturday. The report comes a week after Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif visited Tokyo. Japan was a major oil importer from Iran before the sanctions. If he goes, Abe will be a first Japanese leader to visit Iran since 1978 — before the country’s 1979 Islamic Revolution. ___ 4:40 p.m. Iran’s foreign minister has lashed out during a visit to Islamabad at Donald Trump, assailing the American president for his tweet this week warning Iran not to threaten the U.S. again or it would face its “official end.” Mohammad Javad Zarif says “Iran will see the end of Trump, but he will never see the end of Iran.” The remarks came during Zarif’s visit to Islamabad on Friday where he was thought to be seeking Islamabad’s help to help de-escalate the situation in the Persian Gulf amid the crisis between… [Read full story]
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