Iran urges S Korea to solve problem of access to financial assets 'as soon as possible'

Iran Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian on Thursday, 30 September, urged South Korea to resolve the problem of Iran’s access to its financial assets, which are frozen in the latter’s banks, “as soon as possible”. According to a press note released by the Iranian Foreign Ministry, Abdollahian, in a telephone conversation with his South Korean counterpart Chung Eui-yong, criticised the continuation of freezing Iran’s assets. He called for ending the “current impasse created by following the path drawn by the US” so that the Islamic Republic can use them to buy essential items such as medicines. 

“Due to the existing problem and suspension of trade between the two countries, and even restrictions on the trade of humanitarian items, the Iranian people are very dissatisfied with this situation,” Abdollahian said.

Further, the Iranian Foreign Minister even praised the friendly relations between the two nations in the past decades. He went on to stress the need to further develop bilateral ties. Chung, on the other hand, stressed the need to resolve the problems existing in bilateral relations. 

South Korea-Iran relations

Meanwhile, it is worth mentioning that the relations between Tehran and Seoul have been strained since the US reimposed tough sanctions on Iran and banned countries, including major Asian customers, from buying its petroleum. Iran has said that it has at least $7 billion from oil sales trapped in South Korea and the funds are needed to purchase humanitarian goods, including the coronavirus vaccine. Seoul, on the other hand, in April said that it had resolved the dispute over $7 billion blocked from Iran, but was waiting for the US green light.

South Korea and other US partners had begrudgingly stopped buying oil from Iran after former US President Donald Trump imposed a unilateral embargo with threats to punish anyone who buys from Tehran. Trump had vowed to bring Iran to its knees through maximum pressure after he walked out of an agreement negotiated by his predecessor Barack Obama under which Iran scaled back nuclear work in return for promises of economic relief.

Now, President Joe Biden favours returning the 2015 accord. But Iran has been calling for an end to the US sanctions and said that the Islamic Republic is keen on having large scale political-economic engagements with the world. Newly-minted Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi has even asserted that “nukes have no place in our defence doctrine and deterrence policy. Our country’s strategic policy is to consider the production and stockpiling of atomic weapons as forbidden”. 

(Image: AP)