Eui-yong Eui speaks with Iran's foreign minister... Call for removal of vessel detention

<Anchor>

Foreign Minister Eui-Yong Eui and Iranian Foreign Minister Zarif spoke over the phone to resolve the issue of lifting the detention of our ships and captains and solving Iran's frozen funds.

It has been reported that a plan to transfer $1 billion of frozen Iranian funds in Korea to a Swiss account has been discussed.

This is reporter Jeon Hyeong-woo.

<Reporter>

Foreign Minister Eui-yong Eui and Iranian Foreign Minister Zarif spoke on the phone yesterday (24th) over a solution to the Iranian frozen fund that caused the arrest of our ship.

First of all, Minister Chung demanded that our ships and captains detained in Iran be released as soon as possible.

Responding to Mr. Zarif's request to promptly resolve the issue of the Iranian Central Bank's funding, which was tied up in South Korea due to US sanctions, worth 7.6 trillion won, he said the Korean government is doing its best with sincerity.

In response, Iran's foreign minister, Zarif, has requested that the Iranian central bank provide immediate access to frozen assets in South Korea, Iran's state-run news agency said.

He said that the detained Korean ships "will be handled by law enforcement authorities," and that "we will try to ensure that sailors receive welfare services and consular assistance."

In the currency, the Minister and the Secretary were said to have also discussed the transfer of some frozen funds to Switzerland for use in Swiss humanitarian trade channels.

Earlier, Iran said that it would receive 1 billion dollars of frozen assets in Korea first, and that it would go through judicial proceedings in accordance with international law if Korea does not return the frozen funds.

Minister Chung also expressed his support for the dialogue efforts of the Parties to restore the'nuclear agreement', a fundamental solution to the Iranian freeze funding issue.

Over the restoration of the agreement, which was broken by the Trump administration, the Biden administration is confronting with priority compliance with the nuclear agreement, and Iran with the lifting of preemptive sanctions.