Iran to Ban Imports of Korean Goods If Seoul Fails to Release Assets: MP
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – An Iranian lawmaker warned that the country’s Parliament will devise a double-urgency motion to ban imports of goods from South Korea if Seoul fails to fulfill its promises and release the Iranian assets that it has frozen due to the US sanctions.
South Korean officials have voiced readiness to engage in talks with Iran over the frozen assets, Mohsen Alizadeh, a member of the Parliament's Economic Commission, told Tasnim on Thursday.
“If South Korea fails to carry out its undertakings in the negotiations and shows lack of commitment again, the Parliament will a devise a double-urgency motion to prohobit imports of all types of Korean goods” he added.
Iran's assets at two Korean bank accounts -- known to be worth up to US$7 billion in total -- have been frozen since September last year when Washington's sanctions waiver for South Korea's imports of Iranian oil expired.
Due to the economic challenges caused by US unilateral sanctions and the fallout of the new coronavirus, Iran has been stepping up calls for South Korea to unlock the frozen assets at the bank accounts but Seoul has refused to do so under the US pressure.
