Foreign Ministry Summons South Korean Ambassador
TEHRAN – The Iranian foreign ministry has summoned the ambassador of South Korea to Tehran to protest recent interfering comments made by President Yoon Suk-yeol against the Islamic Republic.
The Iranian deputy foreign minister for legal and international affairs voiced Tehran’s strong protest, saying Yoon’s remarks during a visit to the UAE amounted to meddling in “friendly relations” between Iran and the Persian Gulf countries and undermined peace and security in the region.
The Iranian diplomat demanded an immediate explanation about the remarks and underscored the need for Seoul to correct such an approach.
Referring to South Korea’s unfriendly measures, including freeze of Iranian assets, the official said Seoul’s failure to take effective measures to undo its wrongs would prompt Iran to reconsider relations with the country.
Addressing South Korean forces based in the UAE during a recent trip, Yoon drew an analogy between the alleged threat posed to his country by North Korea and what he called the “threat” facing Abu Dhabi from Iran. He then labeled Iran as the “most-threatening nation” to the UAE.
South Korea’s foreign ministry on Thursday called in Iran’s ambassador to Seoul to explain Yoon’s remarks, official Yonhap news agency reported.
Seoul’s foreign ministry had earlier stated that the comments were “irrelevant” to Seoul’s relations with Iran and urged against “unnecessary overinterpretation.”
South Korean First Vice Foreign Minister Cho Hyun-dong called in Saeed Badamchi Shabestari and “explained again Seoul’s position,” the ministry’s spokesperson Lim Soo-suk said during a regular press briefing.