Iran is not seeking to increase tension, but every country should be able to enjoy its rights under international law, Tehran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said in a meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Wednesday.

"As our president has said, we are not at all seeking heightened tensions," Zarif said in Yokohama, near Tokyo.

"We believe every country should be able to enjoy its rights under international law."

U.S. President Donald Trump pulled the United States out of an international agreement aimed at curbing Iran's nuclear program in 2015 and re-imposed sanctions on it. 

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Trump said on Monday he would meet Iran's president under the right circumstances to end the confrontation over the nuclear deal, and that talks were underway to see how countries could open credit lines to keep Iran's economy afloat. 

But Trump ruled out lifting economic sanctions to compensate for losses suffered by Iran.

On Tuesday, President Hassan Rouhani said Iran would not talk to the United States until all sanctions were lifted.

Japan, Washington's closest Asian ally, has historically had friendly ties with Iran. Abe visited Tehran in June to try to ease tensions.

Zarif told Abe that Iran welcomes the Japanese government's role (in trying) to ease tensions in the Middle East, Japan's Kyodo news agency reported.

Abe said, "Japan will persistently continue our diplomatic efforts to deal with rising tensions in the Middle East and stabilize the current situation." 

Zarif's trip to Japan follows his visit on Sunday to Biarritz, France, where the Group of Seven summit was being held. There, he talked about tensions between Tehran and Washington with French President Emmanuel Macron.

(With input from Reuters)