Iran is taking a legal action to force South Korean banks to give Iran access to billions of dollars frozen under U.S. pressure, the Iranian Foreign Ministry announced on Saturday.
"Pertinent authorities are filing a lawsuit against the delinquent Korean banks at competent courts," read a statement on the ministry's website.
The ministry said it has been trying to get access to its financial assets in South Korea for "nearly two years."
South Korea was one of the main buyers of Iranian gas condensate and oil in the global market before US President Donald Trump's administration reimposed sanctions on Iran's oil industry in November 2018.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry says South Korea is $7 billion in arrears for oil exported before the Trump administration reimposed penalties on Iran’s crude sales.
Iran announced in June that it had received medicines valued at $500,000 from South Korea after two years of negotiations.
According to the South Korean Foreign Ministry, the drugs shipped were for the treatment of genetic diseases.
“We have been consulting with the US, Iran and the banks holding the frozen funds, seeking to make progress on this issue,” said Koh Kyung-sok, a the South Korean Foreign Ministry official following the news about the shipment.
“So far, we’ve been able to utilize some of the funds to expand humanitarian trade with Iran, and will continue to seek ways to increase such exchanges,” he said.
South Korea announced that Seoul and Tehran have been working on a special trade vehicle, similar to that established with the European Union, which would allow Iran to complete humanitarian transactions using the money locked in Korean banks.
The US, however, has sought to “stonewall” the plan, Governor of the Central Bank of Iran Abdolnaser Hemmati said.