Iran Government Seeks Renegotiation of Frozen Funds, US Reaffirms Existing Position

[Asia Economy Reporter Yoo In-ho] The United States has expressed a negative stance toward the South Korean government’s efforts to renegotiate the issue of Iran’s frozen funds.

According to diplomatic sources on the 5th, Ned Price, spokesperson for the U.S. Department of State, confirmed some progress regarding the restoration negotiations of the Iran nuclear deal (JCPOA - Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action) on the 4th (local time), but reaffirmed the existing position on sanctions relief.

Earlier, on the 4th, Choi Jong-geon, First Vice Foreign Minister of South Korea, departed for Austria to meet with representatives of the participating countries in the JCPOA restoration negotiations. He held consultations with representatives from Iran and the P5+1 (United States, United Kingdom, France, China, Russia, Germany) in Vienna, where the 8th round of talks is underway.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

At a briefing that day, Spokesperson Price said regarding the Iran nuclear negotiations, “Negotiations resumed in Vienna yesterday, and discussions are currently ongoing. At this point, we can only confirm that some progress has been made.”

When asked whether there is a possibility that the issue of frozen overseas assets, including Iran’s frozen funds held in South Korea, will be resolved soon, he stated, “Sanctions relief can only be achieved in tandem with the restoration of the nuclear deal, which is the core of the ongoing negotiations. Nothing is agreed upon until everything is agreed upon.”

He added, “I do not want to get ahead of ourselves. While there has been some progress compared to December last year, difficult issues such as how Iran will fully return to the nuclear deal and sanctions relief remain.”

First Vice Foreign Minister Choi is currently visiting Vienna, Austria, where the negotiations are underway, to meet with representatives of the JCPOA restoration participating countries, drawing attention.

Although South Korea is not a party to the JCPOA restoration negotiations, it has closely exchanged views regarding the discussions due to the issue of some Iranian funds frozen in South Korean financial institutions.

In 2018, when the U.S. government placed the Central Bank of Iran on the sanctions list, funds paid as proceeds from Iranian oil exports were frozen in South Korea. These are estimated at about 7 billion USD (approximately 8.3 trillion KRW), known to be the largest among Iran’s frozen overseas assets.

An official from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said regarding the possibility of a breakthrough in the frozen funds issue this time, “We hope so, but more importantly, it is meaningful to show active efforts by the international community as the holder of the funds to resolve the issue.” He added, “It is evaluated that we are at a decisive phase in many respects. Our position is to make the most of this opportunity to resolve the frozen funds issue.”

Meanwhile, Spokesperson Price reaffirmed the existing position on questions about progress in inter-Korean relations, saying, “We will strive for the establishment of lasting peace on the Korean Peninsula through dialogue and diplomacy with North Korea,” and “We will continue our engagement efforts with North Korea in a sophisticated and pragmatic manner.”

Price reiterated, “We are ready to meet North Korea without preconditions and hope that North Korea will respond positively to our outreach.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.