South Korea and the United States have demanded the release of a South Korean-flagged oil tanker seized by Iranian authorities in the Strait of Hormuz.
The MT Hankuk Chemi and its crew of 20 were stopped on January 4 over alleged “oil pollution” in the Persian Gulf and in the strait.
South Korea says it will dispatch a government delegation to Iran "at the earliest possible date" to try secure the release of a tanker seized by Iran amid tensions over Iranian funds frozen in Seoul because of U.S. sanctions.
A Foreign Ministry spokesman made the announcement on January 5, a day after the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) seized the South Korean-flagged MT Hankuk Chemi and detained its crew of 20 near the strategic Strait of Hormuz over pollution violations -- an allegation rejected by the ship's operator.
The spokesman also said that South Korean Deputy Foreign Minister Choi Jong-kun will go ahead with a previously planned trip to Tehran early next week, as Iranian officials seek the release of billions of dollars frozen in South Korean banks under U.S. sanctions.
The frozen assets stem from oil sales earned before Washington tightened sanctions on Iran following the U.S. withdrawal from a landmark nuclear deal between Tehran and world powers.
In Tehran, an Iranian government spokesman rejected allegations that Iran's seizure of the tanker amounted to hostage taking.
"If anybody is to be called a hostage taker, it is the South Korean government that has taken our more than $7 billion hostage under a futile pretext," Ali Rabiei told reporters.
Earlier, the U.S. State Department called for the tanker's immediate release, accusing Iran of threatening "navigational rights and freedoms" in the Persian Gulf in order to "extort the international community into relieving the pressure" of economic sanctions.
Meanwhile, the South Korean Defense Ministry announced that a destroyer carrying members of South Korea's anti-piracy unit arrived in waters near the Strait of Hormuz -- through which 20 percent of all oil traded passes -- and was "carrying out a mission to ensure the safety of our nationals."
The MT Hankuk Chemi, which had been traveling from Saudi Arabia to Fujairah in the United Arab Emirates, is currently in the port city of Bandar Abbas.
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