Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe began a two-day visit to Iran on Wednesday as part of international efforts to reduce tensions between Tehran and Washington. Abe’s trip to Iran is the first by a Japanese premier since the 1979 Islamic revolution and the first by a G7 leader since US president Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew from a landmark nuclear accord Tehran signed with world powers in 2015. The visit comes amid fears that heightened tensions between the US and the Islamic republic risk triggering a conflict. Two weeks ago, Abe hosted Trump and discussed the crisis with him. Japan is an important US ally and has historical business ties with Iran – it has traditionally been one of the biggest buyers of Iranian crude. Abe is scheduled to meet president Hassan Rouhani on Wednesday and, more significantly, hold talks with Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the supreme leader and the republic’s ultimate decision maker, on Thursday. “There are concerns over rising tensions in the Middle East,” Abe told reporters at Tokyo’s Haneda airport before his departure, Japan’s Mainichi Shimbun newspaper reported on Wednesday. “While the situation attracts the attention of the international community, for peace and stability in the region, Japan wants to play a role as much as it can.” “To ease tensions, I’d like to have a frank exchange of views,” Abe added. Abe’s visit has fuelled speculation that he is seeking to act as a mediator between Washington and Tehran, or at least a go-between. Any form of negotiations involving Iran – direct or indirect – would have to be authorised by Khamenei. Japanese officials have played down the prospects of Abe acting as a mediator or carrying a message from Trump. But the premier discussed Iran with Trump on Tuesday, Yoshihide Suga, Japan’s chief cabinet secretary, told reporters.