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A30     world news
                 Diaranson 13 Januari 2021

                             Iran tells SKorea its seized vessel a matter for the courts


            (AP) — Iran’s foreign min-                                                                                          recovered resources in other
            ister told a visiting South                                                                                         countries,  without  naming
            Korean  delegation  Mon-                                                                                            any.
            day that the release of its
            vessel and crew seized by                                                                                           Hemmati  said  he  believed
            Iranian forces is a matter                                                                                          the South Korean delegation
            for  the  courts  and  out  of                                                                                      was determined to solve the
            the  government's  hands,                                                                                           problem.
            state media reported.
                                                                                                                                In  recent  weeks,  Hemmati
            The  development  comes                                                                                             has complained that Iran was
            amid  an  escalating  financial                                                                                     struggling  to  transfer  some
            dispute  between  the  coun-                                                                                        $220  million  held  in  South
            tries.                                                                                                              Korean banks to pay for CO-
                                                                                                                                VID-19  vaccines  through
            The  official  IRNA  news  ently  seeking  to  increase  its  resolve  the  case,”  Iranian  South Korean First Vice For-  COVAX,  an  international
            agency  quoted  Mohammad  leverage over Seoul ahead of  Foreign Ministry spokesman  eign Minister Choi Jong-kun  program designed to distrib-
            Javad  Zarif  as  saying  in  a  South Korea’s pre-scheduled  Saeed  Khatibzadeh  said.  He  and his delegation arrived in  ute  coronavirus  vaccines  to
            meeting  with  South  Korea's  regional trip, which included  said  South  Korean  officials  Tehran on Sunday to discuss  participating countries.
            first  vice  foreign  minister  a stop in Qatar.          could  assign  an  attorney  to  the release of the Korean ves-
            that  the  Iranian  government                            handle  its  case  and  present  sel and the frozen Iranian as-  The ship seizure was the lat-
            cannot intervene in the case,  Zarif  on  Monday  reiterated  evidence in court.       sets.                        est in a series of escalations in
            which  is  “under  review  in  the  government’s  claim  that                                                       the waning days of the admin-
            the legal and judicial frame-  the  vessel  was  confiscated  Iran  maintains  the  tanker  Iranian  central  bank  chief  istration  of  President  Don-
            work,” he said.              by  Iran  over  “environmen-  and  its  20-member  crew  Abdolnasser  Hemmati  said  ald  Trump,  who  unilaterally
                                         tal  pollution.”  But  he  urged  were  stopped  in  the  mouth  his  country  would  not  ac-  withdrew the U.S. from Teh-
            The  South  Korean-flagged  South  Korea  to  remove  the  of  the  Persian  Gulf  because  cept South Korea resorting to  ran’s nuclear deal in 2018 and
            tanker seizure by Iran’s Rev-  restrictions  on  the  Iranian  of the vessel’s “environmen-  U.S. sanctions as the reason  reimposed sanctions that the
            olutionary Guard on Jan. 5 in  funds,  calling  the  frozen  as-  tal  pollution"  but  its  owner  for  continuing  to  hold  the  agreement  had  suspended.
            the crucial Strait of Hormuz  sets  the  “biggest  barrier"  to  has  rejected  the  claim.  The  Iranian funds.    Iran has ramped up uranium
            came as Iranian officials have  improving relations between  crew,  including  sailors  from                        enrichment  levels  at  Fordo,
            been  pressing  South  Korea  the two nations.            Indonesia,  Myanmar,  South  “I told the South Korean del-  its key underground nuclear
            to release some $7 billion in                             Korea  and  Vietnam,  remain  egation  that  Iran  does  not  facility, bringing the country
            assets  tied  up  in  the  coun-  “We have repeatedly told the  in custody at the port city of  accept  their  pretexts,"  said  a  technical  step  away  from
            try’s banks due to American  Korean  side  that  politiciz-  Bandar Abbas near the Strait  Hemmati,  according  to  Ira-  weapons-grade  purity  levels
            sanctions.  Iran  was  appar-  ing the case would not help  of Hormuz.                 nian media. He said Iran has  of 90%.



                           Russia's prison service seeks to jail Kremlin critic Navalny


            (AP)  —  Russia’s  prison  agent that he has blamed on                                 At the end of December, the  valny in Siberia before he was
            service  has  asked  a  Mos-  the Kremlin, alleged Tuesday  The  Kremlin  has  repeatedly  Federal  Penitentiary  Service  airlifted  to  Germany  found
            cow  court  to  put  top  that Russian President Vladi-   denied a role in the opposi-  demanded  that  Navalny  re-  no  trace  of  poison  and  have
            Kremlin     critic   Alexei  mir  Putin  was  behind  the  tion leader's poisoning.    port to its office in line with  challenged  German  officials
            Navalny  behind  bars  for  new legal motion.                                          the terms of a suspended sen-  to  provide  proof  of  his  poi-
            breaching the terms of his                                There  was  no  immediate  tence he received for a 2014  soning. They refused to open
            suspended  sentence  and  “Putin  is  so  mad  at  me  for  comment  from  the  Russian  conviction  on  charges  of  a full-fledged criminal inqui-
            probation.                   surviving  his  poisoning  that  government  on  the  appeal  embezzlement  and  money-  ry, citing the lack of evidence
                                         he ordered the Federal Peni-  to  the  Simonovsky  District  laundering  that  he  rejected  that Navalny was poisoned.
            Navalny,  who  is  convalesc-  tentiary Service to replace my  Court  posted  on  the  prison  as politically motivated. The
            ing in Germany from an Au-   suspended  sentence  with  a  service's website.          service warned that he faced  Last month, Navalny released
            gust  poisoning  with  a  nerve  real one,” Navalny tweeted.                           prison time, if he failed to ap-  the recording of a phone call
                                                                                                   pear.                        he said he made to a man he
                                                                                                                                described as an alleged mem-
                                                                                                   Navalny  says  his  suspended  ber of a group of officers of
                                                                                                   sentence  ended  on  Dec.  30.  the Federal Security Service,
                                                                                                   He also noted the European  or  FSB,  who  purportedly
                                                                                                   Court for Human Rights had  poisoned him in August and
                                                                                                   ruled  that  his  2014  convic-  then tried to cover it up. The
                                                                                                   tion was unlawful.           FSB dismissed the recording
                                                                                                   Navalny  fell  into  a  coma  as fake.
                                                                                                   while aboard a domestic flight
                                                                                                   from  Siberia  to  Moscow  on  Navalny’s   associates   de-
                                                                                                   Aug. 20. He was transferred  scribed  the  prison  service's
                                                                                                   from a hospital in Siberia to a  latest  move  as  an  attempt
                                                                                                   Berlin hospital two days later.  by the Kremlin to keep him
                                                                                                                                from coming back to Russia
                                                                                                   Labs in Germany, France and  to  continue  his  political  ac-
                                                                                                   Sweden, and tests by the Or-  tivities.
                                                                                                   ganization for the Prohibition
                                                                                                   of Chemical Weapons, estab-  “They seem to be in hyster-
                                                                                                   lished that he was exposed to  ics  wondering  what  else  to
                                                                                                   a Soviet-era Novichok nerve  do to prevent Navalny from
                                                                                                   agent.                       returning  to  Russia,”  his
                                                                                                                                spokeswoman  Kira  Yarmysh
                                                                                                   Russian  authorities  insisted  said on Twitter.
                                                                                                   that doctors who treated Na-
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