Japan’s foreign minister voiced concerns over Iran’s uranium enrichment program on Monday in a meeting with his Iranian counterpart, according to a press release from Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The press release described the ministers as “exchanging frank views” over Iran’s “nuclear issue.” Japan’s foreign minister stated that Japan supports the ‘Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action’ (JCPOA). Iran’s foreign minister states that “Iran is pursuing the restoration of the JCPOA through negotiations.”

The JCPOA, or Resolution 2231 (2015), sometimes known as the “Iran Nuclear Deal” was a deal brokered by the UN Security Council to reduce Iran’s capacity to enrich nuclear materials. The deal permitted the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to inspect Iran’s nuclear facilities, in exchange for the removal of sanctions. A 2023 report by the IAEA suggests that Iran stopped implementing its commitments under the plan in February 2021.

UN delegates from Iran have previously suggested that Iran’s nuclear enrichment program was peaceful and that nuclear weapons stockpiled by Israel were “a grave threat to peace and security in the region” and would sabotage the agreement.

The ministers also discussed Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The Japanese minister called upon their Iranian counterpart to respond in a “constructive manner.”