Iran’s permanent representative to the United Nations, Majid Takht Ravanchi, announced the restoration of his country’s right to vote in the organization, after South Korea paid the arrears owed by Tehran to the international organization.
Ravanchi said, in a statement to the official Iranian news agency, that Tehran has paid the overdue dues to the United Nations, announcing the restoration of his country’s right to vote in the United Nations from tomorrow, Monday.
The United Nations had suspended the right to vote for 11 countries in the United Nations General Assembly due to non-payment of their annual dues under the provisions of Article 19 of the Charter of the United Nations.
South Korea said earlier on Sunday that Iran was expected to regain its vote in the United Nations General Assembly after Seoul paid the arrears owed by Tehran to the world organization with Iranian funds frozen in the country.
The Ministry of Finance said that on Friday, Seoul completed the payment of Iran’s arrears to the United Nations, amounting to about $18 million, through Iranian funds frozen in South Korea, in active cooperation with relevant agencies such as the US Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control and the UN Secretariat.
Iran regained voting rights at the United Nations last June after a similar payment, but this month it said it lost them again because it could not transfer funds to pay arrears as a result of US sanctions.
Tehran has repeatedly demanded the release of about $7 billion of its funds frozen in South Korean banks under US sanctions, saying Seoul is holding the money “hostage”.
The release of frozen Iranian funds requires the approval of the United States, after former US President Donald Trump in 2018 withdrew from the Iranian nuclear agreement concluded in 2015 and re-imposed US sanctions.