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On January 4 (local time), the Iranian Revolutionary Guard published a video of the process of capturing the Korean national ship ‘Korea Chemi’ (17,426 tons) in the Strait of Hormuz, an important route for the transportation of oil in oil-producing countries. Middle Eastern oil. The images, believed to have been taken from a helicopter, include a scene of a small high-speed boat belonging to the Iranian Revolutionary Guard approaching a Korean ship. FARS News Video Capture
On the 4th of last month, Iran decided to release Chemie’s Korean crew, who had been detained for polluting the environment of the Persian Gulf. However, due to the position of the ship, that essential manpower to maintain the ship, it took a little longer to return. At a press conference on the 3rd, an official from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said at a press conference on the 3rd: “As revealed the day before, Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister, Abbas Aragchi, first lifted the detention of 19 sailors except the captain (of 20 sailors) said they would like to provide consular assistance. However, Iran’s position to continue to detain ships for contamination investigations caused a disruption in the sailors’ return schedule. Another official said: “The ships require essential manpower for the overall operation and management of the ship. The work is carried out in consultation with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries to determine the necessary manpower ”. It is reported that the required manpower suggested by the shipping company is 13 people. When asked if the sailors could return before New Year’s Day, a Foreign Ministry official said: “I have to look at it.” This decision by Iran is striking as it was taken on a large scale in a situation where the issue of lifting the freeze on Iran’s assets of $ 7 billion (about 7.6 trillion won), which is the “ core problem ” between Korea and Iran, it has not been fulfilled. has been completely resolved. There are two reasons why Iran took such favorable measures. First, the efforts of the South Korean government that actively tried to resolve the problem after the incident took effect. In particular, the problem of paying Iran’s contributions to the UN with frozen funds has been raised and the will of the Korean government has been conveyed, such as the volume of pharmaceutical exports has increased significantly from 15 billion won in recent years. six months to 25.6 billion. won in the last two months. To this end, the Foreign Ministry made 14 communications with Iran after the negotiating team returned on 14 last month. Perhaps because of this, the spokesman for the Iranian Foreign Ministry, Said Hativjade, said on the 2nd that, at the request of the Korean government, “we allow the sailors to leave Iran on a humanitarian level.” The second is the change in the international situation. The reason Iran’s arrest measures attracted global attention was because of the “subtle timing.” Iran sparked the incident at the time of the inauguration of new President Joe Biden, who has vowed to return to the “ Iran Nuclear Deal ”, which the US administration had dismissed as a devoted partner of Donald Trump. The day before the capture was the 1st anniversary of the assassination of the commander of the Kuds Army of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, Gasem Soleimani, revered as the ‘Hero of Iran’). 20% of uranium production resumed. The hardliners seemed to be gaining traction in establishing relationships with the new American administration. However, Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zaryf said in an interview with the United States (CNN) on day 1 that “we are ready to restore relations, so the United States must hurry.” The United States is also beginning diplomacy with Iran on the 29th of last month by appointing Robert Marley, who played a key role in signing the 2015 nuclear deal, as special representative in charge of Iran. The remaining question is whether the government can find a solution that meets Iran’s expectations regarding the frozen funds. The government is in the position that “Korea will move forward with a sense of speed in areas that can be resolved independently, and will transparently continue discussions with the United States on matters requiring consultations with the United States.” In this regard, the Foreign Ministry is reported to be thinking of ways to purchase humanitarian items such as medicines and medical devices, including Corona 19 vaccine, with frozen funds and deliver them to Iran. Furthermore, it is hoped to promote measures to increase the scope of “humanitarian goods” through continued consultations with Iran. In this process, if the negotiations between the United States and Iran on the return of the Iranian nuclear deal are successful, the problem of freezing funds can naturally be resolved. By Gil Yoon-hyung and Kim Ji-eun, Staff Reporter [email protected]
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