Tehran, IRNA – South Korean media outlets have reported that Seoul plans to resume crude oil import from Iran after three-year hiatus.
South Korea’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced on Wednesday that Seoul and Tehran have held consultations to find a way out of years-long dispute over Iranian assets frozen in the South Korean banks as a result of the US-imposed sanctions.
It is worth mentioning that more than 7 billion dollars of Iran’s assets have been blocked for years in two banks in South Korea.
South Korean Yonhap News Agency reported that as multilateral talks to revive the 2015 Iran nuclear deal is entering final stage, Iranian banking and oil managers visit Seoul to hold talks with South Korean officials on stopped economic issues.
In the two-day visit that kicked off on Tuesday, the two sides discuss unfreezing of Iranian blocked money, as well as the possibility of resuming oil trade, as part of their efforts to prepare both countries for a situation that the US-imposed sanctions fade away.
Prior to the US’s cruel sanctions on the Islamic Republic, Iran ranking 4th in the world in terms of holding 175.53 billion barrels of proven oil reserves, was the main exporter of crude oil to South Korea.
Since May 2019, South Korea has stopped oil purchase from Iran following the US sanctions and Washington’s refusal to issue exemption certificate to this end.
Bloomberg media company reported that seemingly Iran is stepping towards returning to international oil market officially after more than three years.
According to informed sources, officials from the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) visit at least two refineries in South Korea in order to discuss crude re-export.
An Iranian delegation comprised of officials from the Central Bank of Iran (CBI), Iran’s Oil Ministry and the NIOC visit Seoul on February 15-16 to discuss issues related to financial and oil problems.
South Korea imported 18.5 million barrels of crude oil per month from Iran prior to re-imposition of US sanctions in 2018.
Source: Islamic Republic News Agency – IRNA
