US asks Japan to stop Iran oil development-paper
The United States has informally asked Japan to suspend its plans to develop an Iranian oil field as part of world efforts to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons, a Japanese newspaper said on Thursday. Resource-poor Japan has been planning to develop Iran’s Azadegan oil field, estimated to hold the world’s second-biggest single oil reserve, despite objections from Washington. But Japan’s top government spokesman, Shinzo Abe, said Tokyo’s plans to develop Azadegan were not currently a topic of discussion with the United States and added that the project was vital for Japan’s aim of securing stable energy supplies . Full Story