Japan lifted sanctions on Iran on Friday in the wake of confirmation by a UN nuclear watchdog that Tehran had implemented measures promised under the landmark nuclear deal reached in July, Kyodo reported.

The lifting of sanctions, approved at a government meeting in the morning, included halts on new investment in the areas of oil and gas in the resource-rich country and paves the way for the signing of an investment agreement between Japan and Iran.

The Japanese government on the same day began considering Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's first visit to Iran to improve ties between Tokyo and Tehran, a government official said. If realized, it would be the first visit by a sitting prime minister since Takeo Fukuda visited the country in 1978.

Source: MENA