Iran – Korea: So far, so close theasian.asia - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from theasian.asia Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
11 February 2021
Author: Dal Seung Yu, HUFS
On 4 January 2021 Iranian authorities detained a South Korean oil tanker in the Strait of Hormuz claiming a technical issue that led to environmental pollution. Resolving the matter will require robust diplomacy and negotiations as US–Iran relations, South Korea–Iran relations and Iran’s internal problems are all intricately intertwined.
In 2018, Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew the United States from the Iran nuclear deal (the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, or JCPOA), thereby straining the US–Iran relationship. Though the United States suffers relatively limited damage from breaking ties with Iran, the situation is different for South Korea.