Fate of Unblocking Iran Assets in S. Korea Tied to U.S. Election
Fate of Unblocking Iran Assets in S. Korea Tied to U.S. Election
Head of Iran-South Korea Chamber of Commerce says the chamber is still working on unblocking Iran’s frozen assets in South Korean banks and it does not mean that the money will be definitely unblocked.

Fate of Unblocking Iran Assets in S. Korea Tied to U.S. Election

IRAN NEWS ECONOMIC DESK

TEHRAN – Head of Iran-South Korea Chamber of Commerce says the chamber is still working on unblocking Iran’s frozen assets in South Korean banks and it does not mean that the money will be definitely unblocked.

Speaking to ILNA, Hossein Tanhaei said that talks are underway for unblocking in a way some part of the frozen money but it has not reached the implementation stage.

Speaking on the latest development of unfreezing Iran’s assets in South Korea, he said his recent interviews have been misunderstood that some part of the frozen money in South Korea is to be unblocked but the truth is that the chamber is in a planning stage for two countries for unblocking the assets. He reiterated it does not mean unblocking because talks have not reached the implementation stage.

Tanhaei went on to say that they are in negotiation stage and nothing has happened in practice, noting that central banks of both countries are working on plans for unblocking the asset in a way.

He reiterated that all plannings depend on the result of the U.S. election and both countries are waiting for the result of the U.S. election.

Tanhaei noted that in the past some South Korean officials had attempted to return Iran’s money in a way but their efforts have not born fruits yet and for this reason, the chamber avoided announcing any useless delight to the people and it has tried to inform them based on the facts and realities.

On the amount of Iran’s frozen money in South Korea, he said different figures are announced but according to the chamber estimate the figure is around $8.5b.

On the possible bartering goods in exchange of unblocking Iran assets, he said Iran had earlier proposed bartering goods, and bartering goods like food stuff and medicines are Iran’s priorities and then goods like petrochemicals, home appliances and vehicles would be other options.

Earlier a senior member of the Iranian parliament had warned that South Korea could risk its entire relations with Iran if it refuses to release funds blocked over U.S. sanctions.

Mohammad Reza Pourebrahimi said on Monday that South Korea should await major diplomatic consequences if it refuses to release funds that Iran needs most at the current “difficult” circumstances.

“If South Korea wants to have continuous relations with Iran, it should not abandon the Iranian nation in difficult days,” said Pourebrahimi who chairs the Iranian parliament’s economic committee.

The funds accrued in accounts in two banks are related to Iran’s sale of oil to South Korea before the United States imposed sanctions on Tehran in November 2018.

Seoul has tried to assuage Iran’s concerns about the funds by proposing to release a small portion of them to finance Iran’s purchases of food and medicine in South Korea.

Pourebrahimi reiterated that Iran would take a tougher approach toward South Korea once it gets rid of the sanctions, a scenario that has become increasingly likely in light of speculations about the outcome of the November 3 presidential elections in the U.S.

“Iran would exit the space of sanctions with future political changes in the region and in the world and under those conditions the policy for Iran’s relations with South Korea would differ from today,” he said.