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A30 world news
Diamars 12 Januari 2021

Iran tells SKorea its seized vessel a matter for the courts

confiscated by Iran over “environ- U.S. sanctions as the reason for con-
mental pollution.” But he urged tinuing to hold the Iranian funds.
South Korea to remove the restric-
tions on the Iranian funds, calling the “I told the South Korean delegation
frozen assets the “biggest barrier" to that Iran does not accept their pre-
improving relations between the two texts," said Hemmati, according to
nations. Iranian media. He said Iran has re-
covered resources in other countries,
“We have repeatedly told the Korean without naming any.
side that politicizing the case would
not help resolve the case,” Iranian Hemmati said he believed the South
Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Korean delegation was determined to
Khatibzadeh said. He said South Ko- solve the problem.
rean officials could assign an attorney
to handle its case and present evi- In recent weeks, Hemmati has com-
dence in court. plained that Iran was struggling to
transfer some $220 million held in
Iran maintains the tanker and its South Korean banks to pay for CO-
20-member crew were stopped in VID-19 vaccines through COVAX,
(AP) — Iran’s foreign minister case, which is “under review in the le- the mouth of the Persian Gulf be- an international program designed
told a visiting South Korean del- gal and judicial framework,” he said. cause of the vessel’s “environmental to distribute coronavirus vaccines to
egation Monday that the release pollution" but its owner has rejected participating countries.
of its vessel and crew seized by The South Korean-flagged tanker sei- the claim. The crew, including sail-
Iranian forces is a matter for the zure by Iran’s Revolutionary Guard ors from Indonesia, Myanmar, South The ship seizure was the latest in a
courts and out of the govern- on Jan. 5 in the crucial Strait of Hor- Korea and Vietnam, remain in cus- series of escalations in the waning
ment's hands, state media report- muz came as Iranian officials have tody at the port city of Bandar Abbas days of the administration of Presi-
ed. been pressing South Korea to release near the Strait of Hormuz. dent Donald Trump, who unilater-
some $7 billion in assets tied up in ally withdrew the U.S. from Tehran’s
The development comes amid an es- the country’s banks due to American South Korean First Vice Foreign nuclear deal in 2018 and reimposed
calating financial dispute between the sanctions. Iran was apparently seek- Minister Choi Jong-kun and his del- sanctions that the agreement had sus-
countries. ing to increase its leverage over Seoul egation arrived in Tehran on Sunday pended. Iran has ramped up uranium
ahead of South Korea’s pre-sched- to discuss the release of the Korean enrichment levels at Fordo, its key
The official IRNA news agency quot- uled regional trip, which included a vessel and the frozen Iranian assets. underground nuclear facility, bring-
ed Mohammad Javad Zarif as saying stop in Qatar. ing the country a technical step away
in a meeting with South Korea's first Iranian central bank chief Abdolnass- from weapons-grade purity levels of
vice foreign minister that the Iranian Zarif on Monday reiterated the gov- er Hemmati said his country would 90%.
government cannot intervene in the ernment’s claim that the vessel was not accept South Korea resorting to

Egypt, Germany, France, Jordan meet to revive Mideast talks

(AP) — Egypt on Monday hosted coming Biden administration. build 800 new settler homes in the state in the West Bank, Gaza and east
the foreign ministers of Germany, occupied West Bank, a move that Jerusalem, territories seized by Israel
France and Jordan to discuss ways Trump has sidelined the Palestinian would likely anger the Palestinians in the 1967 war. Israel withdrew from
to revive peace talks between Is- Authority, recognized Jerusalem as and could strain ties with the incom- Gaza in 2005 but imposed a crippling
rael and the Palestinians, a week Israel’s capital and moved the U.S. ing Biden administration. blockade when the Palestinian mili-
before President-elect Joe Biden Embassy there from Tel Aviv. His tant group Hamas seized power from
takes office. administration also slashed financial Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad Abbas’ forces in 2007.
assistance for the Palestinians and re- al-Malki said last month that the Pal-
In a joint statement, the ministers versed course on the illegitimacy of estinian Authority was ready to coop- There have been no substantive peace
called for practical steps to launch Israeli settlements on land claimed by erate with the Biden administration, talks between Israel and the Pales-
“credible negotiations” between Isra- the Palestinians. and urged Israel to return to talks tinians since Israeli Prime Minister
el and thne Palestinians on achieving based on a two-state solution for the Benjamin Netanyahu was first elect-
a Palestinian state with east Jerusalem Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah el- Israeli-Palestinian conflict. ed more than a decade ago, and the
as its capital in territory Israel cap- Sissi met with the ministers earlier two sides are fiercely divided over the
tured in the 1967 Mideast war. Monday, according to his office. For more than three decades, the Pal- core issues of the conflict.
estinians have sought an independent
The ministers said they were ready to The Egyptian leader said the efforts
work with the U.S. to facilitate nego- by the four countries are aimed at
tiations that would lead to “a compre- breaking the deadlock in the Middle
hensive, just and lasting peace in the East peace process, “taking into ac-
region.” count the political changes on the
“There is a willingness to see a close regional and international stages.” He
relationship with the United States was apparently referring to Biden’s
on the revival of the peace process election and the establishment of ties
that will have to be carried out at with Israel by four Arab countries —
some point,” France’s Foreign Min- the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain,
ister Jean-Yves Le Drian told a joint Sudan and Morocco.
news conference following the meet-
ing. In the news conference, Le Drian
urged Israel and the Palestinians to
The Palestinians suffered numerous commit to a solution to the conflict
setbacks under the outgoing admin- and refrain from taking uniliteral
istration of President Donald Trump measures.
and have complained about what they
say were pro-Israeli steps from Wash- There was no immediate comment
ington. They have said, however, that from either Israel or the Palestinians.
they are ready to work with the in- Israel on Monday advanced plans to