Trump pushed Abe to mediate in Iran, knowing it would fail, Bolton claims in memoir

Former US national security adviser John Bolton said Donald Trump used his relationship with Shinzo Abe to push for a boost in farm exports to Japan

Meanwhile, Japan’s defence minister said the US has not asked Tokyo to pay US$8 billion to keep its troops in the country, as claimed by Bolton

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US President Donald Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe pose for a photo before a meeting in Tokyo in May 2019. John Bolton wrote that the two leaders had a good personal relationship, both as “golf buddies as well as colleagues”. Photo: AP

Published: 4:00pm, 23 Jun 2020Updated: 5:34pm, 23 Jun 2020

US President Donald Trump last year urged Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to act as a mediator between the United States and Iran amid heightened tensions between Washington and Tehran, even though he did not expect the Japanese leader to succeed in the mission, former US national security adviser John Bolton said in his memoir published on Tuesday.

It later emerged, Bolton said, that Trump was using his relationship with Abe to press for a boost in farm exports to Japan.

In the hope of brokering dialogue between the two foes, Abe made the trip to Iran in June 2019, becoming the first sitting Japanese prime minister to do so since 1978. But the mission ended in failure and he was embarrassed after two tankers, one operated by a Japanese company, were attacked near the Strait of Hormuz during his stay.

After the trip, Trump told Abe over the phone that he should not feel guilty that he had totally failed, Bolton recalled, while noting that Trump had not expected the Japanese leader to succeed in the mission and he was not surprised at all at the result.

US President Donald Trump and former national security adviser John Bolton. Photo: EPA-EFE

“He turned to what was really on his mind, saying he really appreciated the effort, but that it was really much more important to him personally that Japan buy more US farm products,” Bolton said.

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