According to IRNA, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Information and Media Head Office reported Monday night that Mottaki who has traveled to Japan atop a delegation on Monday met and conferred with his Japanese counterpart Katsoya Okada.
Mottaki in the meeting elaborated on the recently signed nuclear swap deal among Iran-Turkey and Brazil, arguing, “Now the ground is paved and the atmosphere is quite ripe for switching from confrontation mood into cooperation attitude.”
Referring to another conference of Afghanistan’s neighbors in Iran in near future, he invited the Japanese foreign minister to attend the gathering.
Mottaki also referred to the brutal Israeli attack against the international peace flotilla on its way to Gaza at international waters, condemning the brutal move and asking for immediate action on the part of the UN Security Council in its condemnation.
The Japanese foreign minister, too, welcomed the Tehran Communiqué on nuclear swap deal, expressing hope that preparations for its implementation would be made.
Okada at the meeting also announced Tokyo’s readiness for bilateral cooperation with the Islamic Republic of Iran in regional and international affairs, including over problem solving in Pakistan and Afghanistan.
The Japanese foreign minister referring to the good and old relations between the two countries expressed hope that comprehensive bilateral ties would expand to greater extents than ever before.
He also expressed regret over the Israeli attack against the flotilla of humanitarian aides for the oppressed Gaza residents.
Referring to the recently ended NPT Review Conference in New York, Okada stressed Japan’s commitment to aid to the establishment of a world free from the nuclear weapons.
After the meeting at a press conference Okada quoted Mottaki as telling him that Iran's nuclear development was strictly for peaceful purposes and that there was no need for the sanctions. Okada welcomed a recent accord brokered by Brazil and Turkey to transport Iran's low-enriched uranium to Turkey in exchange for nuclear fuel.
Under the deal, Iran has committed to deposit 1,200 kilograms of low-enriched uranium in Turkey in return for reactor fuel.
But the deal drew a cool reaction from world powers led by the United States, which has pushed for new sanctions against Tehran. Western governments say the deal fails to address concerns about Iran's nuclear program.
Mottaki told a news conference on Monday that he remained hopeful the swap deal would go ahead despite the frosty reaction from the United States.
"I don't expect that the deal will fail because of the US position," Mottaki said.
"I can't say how big the chance is in percentage terms, but I have great hopes for the realization of the deal," he said.
France and Russia had previously offered to supply Iran with the higher-enriched fuel.
Mottaki said the deal with Ankara and Brasilia was "different because it was built on mutual trust, but it was the same as previous proposals in that it was a swap deal."
He also said that "Japan has made a similar proposal in talks with the Iranian ambassador to Japan."
In February, Iran's parliamentary speaker Ali Larijani said in Tokyo that Iran would study a Japanese offer to enrich uranium for Tehran to allow it access to nuclear power for peaceful purposes.
Mottaki said Monday that "the plan to ship 1,200 kilograms of uranium to Japan was also discussed, because we have trust in countries like Japan, Turkey and Brazil."
"Then finally we reached the deal that we ship 1,200 kilograms to Turkey. We'd hoped that there would be a four-party deal including Japan."
Mottaki reiterated that Iran is committed to the civilian use of its nuclear power and observing the nuclear nonproliferation treaty as well as the rules of the UN nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency.
He also accused Israel of being "the only country in the Middle East that holds nuclear weapons" and called for it to ratify the nuclear non-proliferation treaty.
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