VP: South Korea must release Iran’s assets ASAP
Jahangiri made the remarks in a joint press conference with the visiting South Korean Prime Minister Chung Sye-Kyun in Tehran.
“The measure taken by South Korean banks to block Iran’s foreign exchange assets has marred the image of South Korea among the Iranian people,” Iran’s VP said, Press TV reported.
“We want the South Korean government to unblock Iran’s assets in the shortest time possible and make up for the problems it has caused in recent years,” he added.
“Unfortunately, during the past three years, South Korea has followed suit with US illegal sanctions against Iran, which lack any international legitimacy,” Jahangiri noted.
Jahangiri expressed hope that South Korea would take proper steps to improve its position in Iran.
The South Korean prime minister said that the two countries will make efforts to strengthen cooperation at a faster pace in parallel with their endeavor to revive the multilateral nuclear deal signed between Tehran and world powers in 2015.
Several billions of dollars of Iran’s money, mostly from oil and gas exports, are held abroad and are difficult to access because of US sanctions in recent years.
Chung arrived in Tehran earlier on Sunday for talks with senior Iranian officials on bilateral issues, particularly the release of the frozen funds.
Position lost
On Monday, Iran’s Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf also urged South Korea to take practical and immediate measures to solve the existing problems related to frozen assets.
Qalibaf told Chung that South Korea has failed to meet the expectations of the Iranian nation, and even that of those businessmen who already had good business ties with Seoul.
“Unfortunately, South Korea has lost its position in Iran’s foreign trade, and the two countries’ economic and political relations, which once stood at the highest level, have declined,” the speaker said.
Chung regretted that mutual relations have been strained since 2018, but vowed to make efforts to improve ties.
Source: Iran Daily