Iran announced that a South Korean official’s visit to Tehran last week was aimed at dealing with Iranian funds frozen in Seoul, which is a top priority for bilateral relations between the two countries.
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The Iranian embassy to South Korea said, in its “Yonhap” statement today, Tuesday, regarding the visit of First Deputy Foreign Minister Choi Jong-gun, to Iran last week that dealing with Iranian funds frozen in South Korea is the top priority for bilateral relations.
The Iranian embassy quoted Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif as saying during his meeting with Choi Jong-gun, on January 11, that the frozen Iranian assets in South Korea are the biggest obstacle to the development of relations between the two countries.
The political assistant to Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told “Choi” that Iran had clearly requested South Korea for the political will and design of an effective way to solve the problem of Iranian funds frozen according to the embassy.
The embassy stated, “Araghchi mentioned that Iran considers stopping trade, especially humanitarian trade exchange, such as medicines, medical devices, etc., as a matter of great resentment in bilateral relations, and added that South Korean measures in recent months have been very inadequate, which did not help the Iranian people who are suffering from The difficult situation due to the Coronavirus pandemic. “
Choi expressed to Iranian officials his regret at the unfavorable situation in the drug trade between the two countries with regard to Iranian funds frozen in South Korea, and added that he would seek to solve this problem as soon as possible, according to the embassy.
Iranian funds frozen in South Korean banks are estimated at $ 7 billion due to US sanctions.
The embassy reported that Choi called on the Iranian side to speed up the judicial procedures against the South Korean oil tanker detained in Iran.
The embassy added that it is clear that the detention of the South Korean oil tanker is a “technical issue” due to marine pollution, and it could happen anywhere in the world, stressing that Iran provides exemplary luxury and sanitation facilities to the crew of the detained tanker.
The Iranian Revolutionary Guards detained the oil tanker “MT Hancock Kimi”, claiming environmental pollution, on January 4th. The tanker, which sailed from Saudi Arabia to the UAE, was carrying a crew of 20 people, including 5 Koreans.
Source: “Yonhap”
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