Iran repeated its demand that South Korea make up for remarks that President Yoon Suk Yeol made during his mid-January trip to the United Arab Emirates, where he referred to Iran as “the enemy” of Abu Dhabi, Tehran’s state-run news outlet IRNA said Monday, quoting Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman.
At a regular briefing, spokesman Nasser Kanaani called Yoon’s comments unprofessional and suggested the diplomatic row would not be forgotten unless Korea makes up for the incident. Seoul’s Foreign Ministry says it has cleared up the misunderstanding, having communicated to Iran that Yoon’s comments were only meant to encourage Korean troops stationed in the UAE. Reading anything more into the incident is unnecessary, according to the ministry.
But the Iranian spokesman made it clear the feelings are not mutual, reiterating that Seoul should also release about $7 billion of Tehran’s funds frozen in Korean banks because of US sanctions. Washington reenacted them in 2018 after it scrapped a 2015 nuclear deal that promised sanctions relief in return for denuclearization. Iran says Korea is holding the money hostage.
Unfreezing those funds, Kanaani stressed, should take place immediately because doing so has nothing to do with US sanctions, noting that Washington should not dictate the way Tehran-Seoul ties are handled.
Observers following the issue believe political instability in Iran could be one of the reasons behind its repeated attempts to bring up the spat. Earlier this month, Iran’s supreme leader issued pardons for “tens of thousands” of prisoners, including those arrested in recent anti-government protests, which were some of the biggest since the 1979 revolution. Rights groups claim the government crackdown killed over 500 people.
Tensions soared in late January when Korea and Iran traded tit-for-tat blows, having summoned each other’s chief envoys. Then, Tehran’s Foreign Ministry further accused Seoul of violating the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, citing Yoon, who had openly backed an independent nuclear buildup if nuclear threats from North Korea escalate.
South Korea dismissed the accusation, saying the president had meant bolstering extended deterrence -- a US pledge to use all resources including nuclear weapons to deter and respond to attacks on its allies.
