The Japanese government has tentatively set aside three days from June 12 for Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to visit Iran, a trip that Tokyo hopes will help bridge some of Tehran’s differences with Washington but also burnish Abe’s image as a global statesman. The US has been locked in a spiralling diplomatic dispute with Iran since President Donald Trump withdrew from a multilateral agreement to freeze Tehran’s nuclear programme and reimposed economic sanctions in November. As part of those sanctions, Japan is no longer able to import much-needed oil from Iran. Discussions on Abe acting as a g...