Tehran: Iran warned on Monday that it should not pursue a policy of seizing a South Korean tanker in the Gulf, prompting the United States and France to call on the Islamic Republic to release the ship.
The State Department said, “We have repeatedly … told the intervening parties, whether they are the United States or France, that it does not matter to them at all and if they politicize it, they will We will not help solve the technical problem. ” Spokesman Saeed Khatibzada.
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps captured Hancock Chemi a week ago and arrested 20 of its multinational personnel near the strategic Strait of Hormuz. The move comes as Tehran called for the release of billions of dollars of frozen Iranian assets in South Korea under US sanctions.
The United States and France have demanded that Iran release the ship. A State Department spokesman described the occupation as “part of a clear effort to extort money from the international community.”
The French Foreign Ministry said the occupation was raising tensions in the region. South Korean Deputy Foreign Minister Choi Jong-kun arrived in Tehran on Sunday on a long-planned visit.
South Korea’s Yonhap news agency said Choi was to discuss the early release of the tanker and its crew, including South Korean, Indonesian, Vietnamese and Burmese sailors, during his visit.
But according to the Iranian Foreign Ministry, the “main purpose” of his visit was to “discuss ways to access Iranian funds in (South) Korea.” “The South Koreans have questions about the ship’s technical issues, which we answered,” Khatibzada said Monday.
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