Erdogan says he is open to mediate talks between Iran, US

Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday said that he's willing to accept an offer to mediate talks between Iran and the US to ease rising tension in the Middle East, TRT World, an Istanbul-based international news channel, reported on Thursday.

Speaking to reporters on his way back to Turkey, President Erdogan said Japanese Prime Minister Abe had asked him whether they could act together on this issue. Erdogan said he was open to the idea.

On May 2018, Donald Trump withdrew the US from the JCPOA (Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action), and re-imposed sanctions on Iran, also threatening countries and companies that do business with Tehran with secondary sanctions.

The US has continued with what it describes as a ‘maximum pressure’ policy against Iran, which has led to an escalation of tensions in the Middle East region.

Iran says it does not need other countries to mediate talks, saying that negotiations with the current US administration is pointless when Iran is under sanctions and Trump refuses to return to the nuclear agreement.

Erdogan further said that Japan is also not in support of US sanctions on Iran and that problems need to be solved with "new perspectives and brave leadership".

Chinese officials are also against US embargoes, he said while underlying that sanctions are counter-productive for peace and stability in the region.

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