[앵커]
A government delegation also went to Iran to quickly release our crew members detained in Iran, and Vice Minister Choi Jong-Geon of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is now in Tehran. I am interested in whether the negotiations can be done well with the Iranian side coming out stubbornly. It is said that Vice Minister Choi Jong-gun met with Iran’s Vice Minister for Foreign Affairs. Let’s find out by connecting to the press.
Reporter Park Ji-yoon, is there anything known about what happened?
[기자]
That’s right. “On the 10th of Iran’s local time, the first Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Choi Jong-Geon met with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Arakchi,” Iran’s state-run news agency reported.
In an interview with Vice Minister Choi, Arakchi said, “The Iranian judiciary will investigate the facts, and the ships and crew must wait until a decision is made.”
He added, “A Korean ship spilled oil and polluted the Gulf Bay,” he said. “The detention has nothing to do with freezing Iranian accounts in Korea.”
However, Iranian officials complained that “South Korea freezes Iranian accounts due to US sanctions, and South Korea is shaken by US orders.”
He then emphasized, “We hope that Korea will escape US pressure and have an independent relationship with Iran.”
It is an analysis that he admitted that Korea’s freeze on Iranian accounts worsened relations between the two countries.
Iranian media reported that a South Korean government delegation will meet with the governor of the Iranian Central Bank to discuss lifting the frozen funds.
[앵커]
We will also look at the US news about Corona. We are working hard to speed up vaccination. Did Pouch mention something about when mass immunity will occur?
[기자]
That’s right. Anthony Pouch, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, attended a virtual conference hosted by the American Performing Artists Association on the 9th local time.
At this meeting, Dr. Pouch replied, “The reopening schedule of theaters that have been closed for one year depends on the point at which collective immunity is achieved.”
He said, “If everything goes well, we will perform on stage this fall and the audience will enjoy watching with confidence.”
Dr. Pouch believes that mass immunity is established when 70 to 85% of the U.S. population finish vaccination.