A hard-line Iranian newspaper has printed a front page image showing the mushroom cloud of a nuclear blast, meant to criticize Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's close ties with the US ahead of his historic visit to Iran.
The headline of the article in the daily Farheekhteganit, which appeared in both English and Farsi, asked, "How Can You Trust a War Criminal, Mr. Abe?"
The picture appeared to refer to America dropping atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki at the end of World War II.
Hard-line news outlets in Iran immediately picked up the front page from the paper, published by students of Islamic Azad University, which has campuses across the nation.
On Wednesday, Abe will become the first Japanese prime minister to visit Iran since its 1979 Islamic Revolution. During his visit, which is aimed at easing recent tensions between Washington and Tehran, Abe is set to meet with Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and President Hassan Rouhani.
