Al-Monitor | Laura Rozen: When Iranian President Hassan Rouhani travels to Japan on Dec. 19-20, he will be looking to Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to try to advance possible US-Iran mediation efforts, as French efforts appear to have stalled amid rising European concern about Iran�s steps away from the 2015 Iran nuclear deal.

Iran �is asking Abe to pick up where [French President Emmanuel] Macron left off,� Ali Vaez, Iran director at the International Crisis Group, told Al-Monitor.

For Rouhani, the invitation to Japan may offer the chance to signal not just internationally but also to the domestic Iranian audience that there could be a reprieve from economic duress that has spurred recent widespread protests.

Read more here