“South Korea’s Effort to Correct Mistake Was Insufficient,” Iran Speaks for the First Time after the “Counter-summons”

The Iranian government recognized some of the efforts by the government of the Republic of Korea in response to President Yoon Suk-yeol’s remark, in which he defined Iran as the enemy of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), but announced that the efforts were not enough.

According to the Iranian state-affiliated media, IRNA News Agency, Nasser Kanaani (pictured), the spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, announced that Tehran and Seoul exchanged their sincere positions on the issue in a press conference on January 23 (local time). He acknowledged that the South Korean government showed willingness to correct the mistake during the talks, but at the same time, added that from Iran’s perspective, the efforts were not enough. Kanaani further told the South Korean government that countries outside the Middle East seeking cooperation with countries in this region should avoid unnecessary tension and act to strengthen mutual cooperation and stability. This was the first official response from Iran since South Korea and Iran summoned each other’s ambassadors in connection with the comment made by President Yoon when he visited the Akh Unit in the UAE.

The Iranian foreign ministry also urged the South Korean government to keep the promise to return frozen assets and argued that the South Korean government had the obligation to protect the legal rights of Iran and to return the assets with no strings attached. The Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson claimed that Iran was not satisfied with the efforts by the South Korean government to resolve the issue of frozen assets and argued that the Iranian assets in South Korea must be returned regardless of other issues.

After the U.S. reimplemented sanctions against Iran in 2018, approximately 7 billion dollars in exchange for Iranian oil have been frozen in South Korea. This is known to be the biggest amount of Iranian assets frozen overseas. The issue has been the biggest obstacle in Seoul’s relations with Tehran for years. South Korea was one of the biggest importers of Iranian oil before the U.S. government withdrew from the Iran nuclear agreement (Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, JCPOA) in 2015 and reenforced sanctions against Iran in November 2018.

Earlier, on January 18, the Iranian foreign ministry summoned Yun Kang-hyeon, the South Korean Ambassador to Iran, and expressed regret claiming that the remark by the South Korean president practically disrupted friendly ties among Middle Eastern countries and harmed regional peace and stability. The next day, Cho Hyun-dong, first vice minister of foreign affairs, also summoned the Iranian Ambassador to South Korea and expressed our position. He said, “President Yoon’s remark was intended to encourage our troops conducting a mission in the UAE and had nothing to do with Iran’s international relations, including ties with South Korea.”