Page 8 - AsianOil Week 29 2020

AsianOil EAST ASIA AsianOil

South Korea, Iran

embroiled in oil dispute

POLICY IRAN’S ambassador to Seoul was summoned to
the South Korean Foreign Ministry on July 23 as
an official protest was lodged over reports that
Tehran is mulling legal action against Seoul over
the freezing of Iranian assets.
Since September last year, an estimated $7bn
(€6.06bn) in Iranian funds have been held in two
South Korean banks. The funds were immobi-
lised after US sanctions waivers granted to a
handful of countries including South Korea on
imports of Iranian oil expired.
Iran’s foreign ministry earlier this week
warned of legal action in the International Court
of Justice if Korea kept up with its refusal to
transfer the money. No doubt earning the ire of
the South Koreans, spokesman for the ministry,
Seyyed Abbas Mousavi, described ties between
Washington and Seoul as like a “master-servant
relationship”. Seoul was afraid of violating US
sanctions on Iran by delivering to Tehran what
was owed to it, he said.
Iranian Ambassador Saeed Badamchi Shabe-
stari met with Koh Kyung-sok, director-general
of the South Korean Foreign Ministry’s division
for African and Middle Eastern affairs. “Regrets” The South Korean government summoned Iranian Ambassador Saeed Badamchi
over Mousavi’s “inappropriate” comments were Shabestari to dicuss comments made about Seoul’s relationship with the US.
expressed to Shabestari.
“The Iranian side called for understanding and South Korea stopped buying Iranian oil in
stressed that it was not the position of the Iranian May last year when the US decided not to toler-
government,” reported Yonhap news agency. ate any more exemptions for purchases of crude
The funds frozen in the South Korean banks shipped from Iran.
were being used to remunerate Iran for oil Iranian President Hassan Rouhani in June
imports and the export of goods to Iran. ordered Iranian central bank governor Abdol-
nasser Hemmati to pursue “firm measures”,
including legal action, to force South Korea to
release the funds, according to news reports in
Iran.
Robert Dujarric, a professor of international
relations at the Tokyo campus of Temple Univer-
sity, told DW that Tehran’s demands indicated
that it was increasingly feeling the impact of US
sanctions.
“It’s not only the sanctions, though,” he said.
“There are also concerns over oil prices and the
coronavirus pandemic, so it appears that they are
looking for any sort of financial gain that would
be able to help them, at least in the short term.”
“We must remember that Seoul is under a lot
of pressure already from the US not to go soft on
sanctions,” Dujarric was also quoted as saying.
South Korea’s relies heavily on US military
support to ensure there are no military con-
frontations across the Demilitarized Zone with
North Korea.
Over recent months, Seoul has been sending
humanitarian aid to Tehran, including medi-
cines and medical equipment, to help with the
Iranian fight against the coronavirus.™

P8 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 29 23•July•2020