S Korea Sends Delegation to Iran ahead of US Sanctions: Report
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – The South Korean government recently sent a delegation to Iran ahead of the US’s resumption of sanctions against the country, a report said.
“The US has settled on Nov. 4 as the date when it will resume sanctions against Iran, and we think that this will have a major impact not only on petrochemicals but on the entire payment system for exports (between Iran and South Korea),” a senior official from South Korea’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on July 4, according to a report by the South Korean newspaper Hankyoreh.
It added, “We’re currently working to arrange a second round of negotiations with the US in July”.
The first round of deliberations with the US took place after the US’s announcement in May that it is reinstating sanctions on Iran.
“While our relationship with the US is important, our relationship with Iran is important, too. That’s why a government delegation visited Iran last week,” the official said.
While saying that Seoul has no choice but to take part in the sanctions, the official added that Seoul “intends to do its best in the negotiations in a bid to maintain relations with Iran.”
If the US asks its allies to completely halt imports of Iranian crude oil as of Nov. 4 as it is expected to do, this will inevitably inflict a severe blow on the South Korean economy, which relies heavily on Iranian crude oil.
Currently, 13 percent of South Korea’s oil imports are from Iran. Condensate, which plays a critical role in the South Korean petrochemical industry, accounts for 73 percent of oil imports, and more than half (53 percent) of South Korea’s imported condensate comes from Iran.
