Seoul:
Iran denied on Tuesday it was utilizing a South Korean ship and its crew as hostages, a day following it seized the tanker in the Gulf whilst pressing a demand for Seoul to release $7 billion in funds frozen below US sanctions.
The seizure of the MT Hankuk Chemi and its 20-member crew close to the strategic Strait of Hormuz has been noticed as an try by Tehran to assert its demands, just two weeks ahead of President-elect Joe Biden requires workplace in the United States.
Iran desires Biden to lift sanctions imposed by outgoing President Donald Trump. Tehran’s critics have lengthy accused it of capturing ships and foreign prisoners as a technique of gaining leverage in negotiations.
“We’ve become used to such allegations,” Iranian government spokesman Ali Rabiei told a news conference. “But if there is any hostage-taking, it is Korea’s government that is holding $7 billion, which belongs to us, hostage on baseless grounds.”
South Korea summoned the Iranian ambassador, named for the ship to be released and stated it was dispatching a delegation to Iran to talk about it. Iran says the ship was held more than environmental violations.
Iran’s capability to challenge shipping in the Gulf is one particular of its key points of leverage in what is anticipated to be a tough negotiation when the Biden administration requires workplace on January 20. In 2019, Iran held a British tanker for two months.
South Korea, like other nations, is essential to limit Iran’s access to its monetary method below the US sanctions, which had been imposed by Trump following he abandoned a nuclear agreement reached with Iran below his predecessor Barack Obama.
Iran says the sanctions are illegal and have hurt its economy, such as its capability to respond to the worst outbreak of COVID-19 in the Middle East.
Biden aims to revive the nuclear agreement, but any thaw is most likely to pose a diplomatic challenge. Since Trump abandoned the deal, Iran has taken measures that violate it Biden says Iran should be completely compliant ahead of the deal can be restored, whilst Iran says Washington should initially lift the sanctions.
On Monday, Tehran announced it had stepped up uranium enrichment at an underground facility, its newest move in violation of the nuclear deal’s terms.
Crew “safe”
South Korea’s Foreign Minister, Kang Kyung-wha stated on Tuesday she was producing diplomatic efforts to safe the release of the tanker and had created speak to with her counterpart in Tehran.
Iran’s ambassador in Seoul, Saeed Badamchi Shabestari, asked about the status of the ship’s crew ahead of his meeting at the foreign ministry, told reporters “all of them are safe”.
In addition to a South Korean delegation anticipated to go to Iran as quickly as probable to attempt to no cost the ship, South Korea’s Vice Foreign Minister, Choi Jong-kun, is scheduled to pay a visit to Iran on Sunday. Iranian state Television cited a Tehran government official as saying the pay a visit to had been scheduled earlier, to talk about the frozen funds.
“Armed soldiers”
The ship’s Busan-primarily based operator, Taikun Shipping Co. Ltd., told Reuters there had been absolutely nothing to indicate ahead of the vessel was seized that Iranian authorities had been probing probable violations of environmental guidelines.
“If it really was marine pollution, as they say, the coastguard was supposed to approach the ship first,” Taikun’s management director, Lee Chun-hee, stated by phone. “But instead, armed soldiers approached the crew and said they needed to be investigated.”
Last Sunday, the Tehran Times newspaper reported Iran was hoping to negotiate an agreement to use the frozen funds to trade for commodities, such as coronavirus vaccine doses.
According to South Korean news agency Yonhap, a foreign ministry official stated the Iranian government had attempted to safe vaccines by way of the international COVAX initiative, backed by the World Health Organization. Tehran had been in talks with the ministry and the US Treasury to spend for the doses with South Korean won.
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