Seoul has used Iranian funds frozen in Korean banks to address the unpaid to the United Nations budgets.
Le Monde with AFP
South Korea used $ 18 million in Iranian funds frozen in Korean banks to pay Tehran’s unpaid bills to UN budgets, announced Sunday, January 23 Seoul, which will allow Iran of quickly recover his right to vote at the United Nations. This payment was made on Friday in cooperation with the United States and the United Nations, after Iran had “urgently requested” in South Korea to pay the amount due, explained the South Korean Minister of Finance in a statement.
“The payment of contributions to the UN of Iran (more than $ 18 million) was conducted,” confirmed the Iranian diplomatic mission to AFP in AFP in New York. From Friday, UN sources had indicated that a little more than $ 18 million from Iran had been released in Seoul to settle the United Nations. This amount was the minimum arrears due by Tehran at the United Nations to recover its right to vote within the organization, lost in early January.
Iran has more than $ 7 billion of funds for oil exports, frozen in two South Korean banks because of US sanctions. “Iran’s right to vote at the United Nations General Assembly should be immediately reinstated with this payment,” added the South Korean ministry.
A similar situation last year
Iran was the third trading partner of South Korea in the Middle East before the United States unilaterally retire from a nuclear agreement concluded in 2015 between Tehran and the global powers and reimpose paralyzing sanctions. exchanges. Article 19 of the Charter of the United Nations provides for a suspension of the right to vote at the General Assembly for any country whose amount of arrears shall be equal to or greater than the contribution due by it for the two complete years elapsed.
On 11 January, UN Secretary-General had announced that Iran had to pay $ 18.4 million to recover its right to vote. Last year, Iran had already lost its right to vote because of unpaid bills. Tehran stated that he could not honor the minimum required for his debts to the United Nations due to the economic and financial sanctions imposed by the United States.
After several months of negotiations, Tehran had been able to use funds blocked in South Korea to pay the minimum of debt required and recover its right to vote, just before the election of new members to the Security Council of the ‘UN.