Ties Between Iran, South Korea Shaken over Frozen Funds

The South Korean ambassador to Tehran announced the delivery of $1.2 million worth of medication to help Iran fight the coronavirus outbreak. Photo: South Korean Embassy's Twitter account
The South Korean ambassador to Tehran announced the delivery of $1.2 million worth of medication to help Iran fight the coronavirus outbreak. Photo: South Korean Embassy's Twitter account
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Ties Between Iran, South Korea Shaken over Frozen Funds

The South Korean ambassador to Tehran announced the delivery of $1.2 million worth of medication to help Iran fight the coronavirus outbreak. Photo: South Korean Embassy's Twitter account
The South Korean ambassador to Tehran announced the delivery of $1.2 million worth of medication to help Iran fight the coronavirus outbreak. Photo: South Korean Embassy's Twitter account

Relations between Iran and South Korea have been shaken over funds frozen because of US sanctions.

Iran called on Friday for South Korea to release billions of dollars in frozen funds.

“South Korea’s ban on Iran’s use of its central bank resources to buy basic goods, medicine and humanitarian items is in no way acceptable, and we expect the South Korean government to lift this restriction as soon as possible,” President Hassan Rouhani said, in remarks carried by state news agency IRNA.

He instructed the head of the Iranian central bank to follow up the matter through legal channels and international forums, IRNA said, according to Reuters.

Rouhani did not cite a figure for the frozen funds, but the news agency Borna quoted Hossein Tanhayi, head of the Iran-South Korea chamber of commerce, as saying between $6.5 billion and $9 billion belonging to Iran was blocked in South Korean banks.

“Iran intends to take legal action against this ..., but this is not an easy path and it is time-consuming,” Tanhayi said.

South Korea’s imports of Iranian oil have been zero since May 2019, when the United States revoked waivers which had allowed some countries to continue buying Iranian oil without falling foul of US sanctions.

The United States re-imposed sanctions on Iran in 2018 after President Donald Trump withdrew from a deal to lift them in return for curbs on Iran’s nuclear program. Tehran calls the US sanctions economic warfare.

The Iranian Foreign Ministry said in May that preliminary steps had been taken to set up a channel to allow Iran to use funds in South Korea to buy humanitarian goods. Weeks later South Korea’s Foreign Ministry said Seoul was sending $500,000 worth of medicine to Iran.



Plane with 2 People on Board Crashes in Upstate New York

New York Mayor Eric Adams joins Joan Camprubí Montal, a family member of five of the victims who died in the Hudson River helicopter crash, at a memorial on Saturday, April 12, 2025 in New York.  (Justin Persaud/Mayoral Photography Office via AP)
New York Mayor Eric Adams joins Joan Camprubí Montal, a family member of five of the victims who died in the Hudson River helicopter crash, at a memorial on Saturday, April 12, 2025 in New York. (Justin Persaud/Mayoral Photography Office via AP)
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Plane with 2 People on Board Crashes in Upstate New York

New York Mayor Eric Adams joins Joan Camprubí Montal, a family member of five of the victims who died in the Hudson River helicopter crash, at a memorial on Saturday, April 12, 2025 in New York.  (Justin Persaud/Mayoral Photography Office via AP)
New York Mayor Eric Adams joins Joan Camprubí Montal, a family member of five of the victims who died in the Hudson River helicopter crash, at a memorial on Saturday, April 12, 2025 in New York. (Justin Persaud/Mayoral Photography Office via AP)

A twin-engine plane with two people on board crashed Saturday in a muddy field in upstate New York, authorities said.
The Columbia County Sheriff's Office responded to a 911 report around noon, according to Undersheriff Jacqueline Salvatore, who said the crash was fatal but declined to reveal how many people died.
The Federal Aviation Administration said the Mitsubishi MU-2B was headed to Columbia County Airport near Hudson, but crashed about 30 miles (48 kilometers) away near Copake.
“It's in the middle of a field and it's pretty muddy, so accessibility is difficult,” Salvatore said during a news conference near the scene about 50 miles (80 kilometers) south of Albany.
The National Transportation Safety Board said it had deployed an investigation team, which was expected to arrive Saturday night.