Iran summons South Korea envoy over president’s ‘meddlesome’ remarks

Iran’s Foreign Ministry has summoned the South Korean ambassador to Tehran over the recent “meddlesome” comments by South Korea's president in the United Arab Emirates.

Yun Kang-hyeon was summoned on Wednesday to receive Tehran’s strong protest following South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol’s interventionist remarks regarding the Islamic Republic's relations with the UAE.

Addressing the UAE-based Korean forces during a recent trip to the Persian Gulf Arab state, 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.

During the meeting with Yun, Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister on Legal Affairs Reza Najafi stressed Iran’s “friendly” relations with most of the Persian Gulf countries and described as “meddlesome” the South Korean president's remarks about Iran and UAE, which Najafi said undermined peace and stability in the region.

Najafi called for an “immediate” explanation on the part of the South Korean authorities concerning the issue and emphasized the need for them to swiftly rectify their approach.

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Pointing to South Korea's unfriendly approach, including the blocking of the Iranian nation's financial resources, Najafi underscored that South Korea's failure to take effective measures to solve the problem would prompt the Islamic Republic to “reconsider” its relations with Seoul.

The deputy foreign minister also denounced Yoon’s comments on the possibility of Iran developing a nuclear weapon as “inconsistent” with the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), and called for an explanation from the South Korean side.

The South Korean ambassador, for his part, provided explanations from some of his country’s officials about Yoon’s remarks, and stressed that such statements have nothing to do with the relations between Iran and the UAE or South Korea.

Yun stated that he would convey Iran’s protest to the authorities in Seoul.

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