In response to media reports that Iran’s detention of the Korean national ship’Korea Chemie’ was related to a transaction to purchase a vaccine with Iranian frozen funds in Korea, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs explained that “they had already received special approval from the US Treasury.” . This means that the two countries had previously discussed and reached an agreement on how to use the crude oil price frozen in Korea to purchase Iranian vaccines. It seems that they are wary of interpreting this arrest as a conflict between the two countries triggered by US sanctions against Iran.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on the 5th, “The cost of the freeze fund vaccine purchase was under special approval from the U.S. Treasury.” In this case, the US government was not able to make a decision because of concerns that the US government might sanction this money.”
However, it is reported that there were complaints among hard-line conservatives in Iran that the amount of vaccines to be transferred to Iran was insufficient compared to the amount of the frozen funds. Currently, the amount of crude oil that Korea has not been able to pay to Iran is estimated to be between $8 billion and $8.5 billion due to sanctions against Iran, which have been in full swing since 2019.
The official said, “It was for this reason that Choi Jong-gun’s visit to Iran was coordinated this Sunday.”
Accordingly, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs also showed a cautious position on the cause of the arrest. An official from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said, “It is premature to predict the cause of the arrest.” The Iranian side was confirmed to have delivered an official position that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that it was a’technical issue’. It is argued that a complaint has already been filed with the Iranian Maritime Administration for maritime pollution activities of Korean ships, and that it has only initiated formal judicial proceedings.
Iran’s Ambassador to Korea Said Badamchi Shavestari, who was invited to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in connection with the arrest of a Korean oil tanker in Iran, is moving to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs office in Jongno-gu, Seoul on the afternoon of the 5th. Reporter Kim Seong-ryong
The Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs demanded that the Iranian side to present a complaint, etc., while protesting against Iran’s Ambassador to the Republic of Korea, Said Badamchi Shavestari. Both sides are known to have agreed to solve this problem through diplomacy.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is planning to hold a videoconference in the overseas space with Iran-Oman-UAE ambassadors attending at 5:30 pm, presided over by the Second Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs, at 5:30 pm for the early release of detained vessels. It also announced that it will cooperate with countries with detainees such as Myanmar, Vietnam, and Indonesia to lift the detention early.
In the afternoon of the previous afternoon, the Korean chemical carrier’Korea Chemi’, which was sailing in the waters near Oman in the Strait of Hormuz, was captured into Iranian waters at the request of the Iranian authorities to investigate. The ship had a total of 20 sailors, including five Korean citizens and Indonesia, Vietnam, and Myanmar. They are reportedly detained in Bandar Abbas, a port city in southern Iran. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has already dispatched the consul in charge of the Iranian embassy to the region where the local ship is located, and plans to dispatch a working delegation to the Iranian region with the head of the region in charge as the working group in the earliest possible time.
Reporter Dayoung Kim [email protected]