Iran denies holding Korean ship, crew as hostages
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Iran denied yesterday it was using a South Korean ship and its crew as hostages, a day after it seized the tanker in the Gulf while pressing a demand for Seoul to release US$7 billion in funds frozen under United States sanctions.
The seizure of the MT Hankuk Chemi and its 20-member crew near the strategic Strait of Hormuz has been seen as an attempt by Tehran to assert its demands, just two weeks before President-elect Joe Biden takes office in the US.
Iran wants Biden to lift sanctions imposed by outgoing President Donald Trump. Tehran’s critics have long accused it of capturing ships and foreign prisoners as a method of gaining leverage in negotiations.
“We’ve become used to such allegations,” Iranian government spokesman Ali Rabiei told a news conference. “But if there is any hostage-taking, it is Korea’s government that is holding US$7 billion, which belongs to us, hostage on baseless grounds.”
South Korea summoned the Iranian ambassador, called for the ship to be released and said it was dispatching a delegation to Iran to discuss it. Iran says the ship was held over environmental violations.
South Korea, like other countries, is required to limit Iran’s access to its financial system under the US sanctions, which were imposed by Trump after he abandoned a nuclear agreement reached with Iran under his predecessor Barack Obama.
Iran says the sanctions are illegal and have hurt its economy, including its ability to respond to the worst outbreak of COVID-19 in the Middle East.
Biden aims to revive the nuclear agreement, but any thaw is likely to pose a diplomatic challenge.
South Korea’s Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha said yesterday she was making diplomatic efforts to secure the release of the tanker and had made contact with her counterpart in Tehran.
Iran’s ambassador to Seoul Saeed Badamchi Shabestari, asked about the status of the ship’s crew before his meeting at the foreign ministry, told reporters “all of them are safe.”
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