In a post on his Twitter account on Tuesday, Vaezi advised South Korea not to ruin its interests in Iran by blocking the Iranian assets under the US pressures.
دولت #كره_جنوبي نبايد اعتماد دهههاي اخير ملت ايران به توليدات و فناوري آن كشور و منافع درازمدت كشورش در بازار ايران را فداي خواست و فشارهاي رژيم آمريكا كند. لذا لازم است دسترسي ايران به وجوه بلوكه شدهاش در كره جنوبي را تسهيل و تسريع نمايد.
— Mahmoud Vaezi (@Dr_Vaezi) June 16, 2020
“The government of South Korea must not sacrifice the Iranian nation’s trust in that country’s products and technology in recent decades as well as its long-term interests in the Iranian market for the US regime’s demands and pressures,” the President’s Chief of Staff said.
It is necessary for the Seoul government to facilitate and accelerate Iran’s access to its frozen money in South Korea, Vaezi underlined.
On Monday, Iran’s Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Seyyed Ababs Mousavi denounced South Korea’s “blind” obedience to the US, saying Seoul has no right to freeze Iranian assets.
On June 12, Hossein Tanhaee, the chairman of Iran and South Korea’s joint chamber of commerce told Borna news agency that Iran’s frozen assets in South Korea were between $6.5 billion and $9 billion.
Tanhaee added that not only Korean banks refuse to release Iran’s money, some of them have also demanded commission and maintenance fees for Iran’s accounts.