21 January, 2023: Has there been a strain in the relations between South Korea and Iran ? Read to know more.
In a growing dispute over remarks made by South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol referring to the Islamic Republic as the enemy of the United Arab Emirates, Iran and South Korea summoned the ambassadors of the other country.
What did he say?
Yoon said earlier this week that South Korea and the UAE (United Arab Emirates) are in "extremely similar" situations and that North Korea and Iran are "the greatest, largest threat" for both countries. He was addressing the South Korean forces deployed in Abu Dhabi.
Now, this was a statement he made on behalf of his country and UAE which agitated the extremely touchy and aggressive governments of North Korea and Iran. Now if the would have come from North Korea's leader, the world would not have been surprised as he is not expected to be a Team player anyways but nations like South Korea are expected to be diplomatically more articulate.
Yoon's ministry later stated that his remark was meant as a gesture of solidarity for South Korean soldiers. According to a report from Iran's official IRNA news agency,Tehran’s Reza Najafi called South Korean ambassador Yun Kang-hyeon on Wednesday and warned that if the matter was not rectified, bilateral ties may be reconsidered.
The sanctions on Iranian money in South Korea and rumors of arms deals between Iran and North Korea had already strained ties between Seoul and Tehran.
Both opposition MPs and several members of Yoon's own party criticized him for not being cautious after the event, which they called a "diplomatic disaster."
Following the withdrawal of USA's then-President Donald Trump from the 2015 nuclear agreement between Iran and six other nations, under which Tehran committed to restrict its nuclear projects in exchange for the lifting of U.S. sanctions, Washington again imposed sanctions on Tehran in 2018.
There have been discussions between Seoul and Tehran on how to unfreeze the funds and how to resume buying Iranian oil. Once one of Asia's largest consumers of Iranian oil, South Korea stopped purchasing it after Washington placed sanctions on Tehran in 2018.