South Korea's First Reaction to the US-Iran Agreement: We Hope It Is Implemented Without Issues

On Friday, South Korea neither confirmed nor denied reports regarding the transfer of six billion dollars of the Islamic Republic's funds that had been blocked in the country due to US sanctions. However, the country expressed hope that the implementation of the agreement would resolve a significant barrier that had arisen in relations between Tehran and Seoul. US officials stated on Thursday that the US had reached an agreement with the Islamic Republic regarding the release of five detained dual citizens and the transfer of approximately six billion dollars of Iran's blocked assets in South Korea to a bank in Qatar. According to South Korea's Yonhap News Agency, a Foreign Ministry official said on Friday, August 20, to reporters, "At this stage, we have nothing to confirm." He added, "The government is consulting with the countries involved in this agreement, including the US and Iran, to address the issue of the blocked funds," expressing hope that this matter would be resolved smoothly and without problems. According to Yonhap, relations between Seoul and Tehran had faced difficulties due to the blocking of seven billion dollars of Iran's funds in two South Korean banks, namely the Industrial Bank of Korea (IBK) and Woori Bank. This seven billion dollars had been blocked following extensive US sanctions against the Islamic Republic in 2018. The Islamic Republic has repeatedly called for the release of this amount since then but has been unsuccessful. In this context, Fada Hossein Maleki, a member of the National Security and Foreign Policy Commission of the Islamic Consultative Assembly, told ILNA news agency last week, "We have repeatedly said that if this seven billion dollars is not paid, Iran will certainly not remain silent, and we have many options that will be detrimental to South Korea, and we will definitely use them." He did not provide details about these options. According to Yonhap, an official from the Industrial Bank of Korea, in response to reports about the transfer of six billion dollars, said, "We know that this amount must be transferred based on the agreement between the US and Iran. However, we cannot confirm our client's financial transaction with a third party." Woori Bank of South Korea also refrained from commenting on this matter. On Thursday, August 19, it was announced that five American prisoners had been transferred from Evin Prison to a hotel. These five dual-national Iranian Americans, Siamak Namazi, Emad Sharqi, Morad Tahbaz, and an unnamed fourth person, were moved from Tehran's Evin Prison to house arrest, which the White House confirmed. According to sources familiar with the negotiations, the "fifth dual national," whose identity has not been revealed, had previously been under house arrest. Claims of the release of Iran's blocked assets in South Korea have not yet been confirmed by the US. The Deputy of Raisi stated that until the complete transfer of six billion dollars, the American prisoners in Iran will remain. Tom Cotton stated that the US should not pay ransom to the Islamic Republic; John Kirby described it as a humanitarian action. Iran confirmed the "release of funds" in exchange for the release of hostages but denied the "method of spending." The White House's response to the transfer of American prisoners: We are closely monitoring the situation.