Newsletters
South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun spoke with his Iranian counterpart Abbas Araghchi on Friday, stressing the need to ensure the passage of vessels through the Strait of Hormuz amid U.S. pressure on Seoul to join its military operation against Tehran.
Cho expressed “deep concern over the recent situation in the Middle East and voiced hope that sustainable peace and stability would be restored in the region,” Yonhap News reported, citing South Korea’s Foreign Ministry.
On the Strait of Hormuz, Cho “underscored Seoul’s continued participation in international efforts to ensure freedom of navigation through the strategic waterway.”
South Korea has “consistently maintained that the free and safe passage of all vessels must be guaranteed,” Cho told Araghchi.
The phone conversation came after Tehran warned Seoul against joining the Trump administration’s military operations against Iran.
In recent days, South Korea has released several statements saying it has not reached any decision on deploying forces to join U.S. operations in Hormuz.
Cho and Araghchi have spoken six times since the war began.
South Korea is a treaty ally of the U.S. and hosts about 39,000 American troops on the Korean Peninsula.
The phone call came as a South Korean government team tasked with assessing the security situation near the Strait of Hormuz returned home from the United Arab Emirates on Thursday, Yonhap News reported.
The team, which included officials from the defense and foreign ministries, traveled to the UAE earlier this week to conduct an on-site assessment of the overall security and operational situation near the strait.
Media reports have speculated on possible military assets for deployment, including P-8A maritime patrol aircraft, a logistics support ship and explosive ordnance disposal teams, mainly non-combat assets.
Seoul, however, is said to have ruled out the naval logistics support vessel because that operation would require dispatching more than 100 sailors.
The South Korean team is believed to have visited Al Dhafra Air Base in Abu Dhabi, which hosts a major U.S. military installation in the UAE, to check operational conditions for a potential P-8A deployment.
U.S. pressure for a military deployment has posed a serious diplomatic challenge for South Korea, which has already faced immediate backlash from Iran.
Seoul has stressed that sending the assessment team does not mean a deployment will follow, saying its purpose was strictly to assess the security environment and safety conditions near the strait.
Seong Ghi-hong, senior presidential secretary for public relations, reiterated Thursday that no decision had been made.
“If deployment was not an option, we could have technological assistance,” Seong said.
“While we can consider combat or noncombat forces in the form of deployment, we could also wisely explore alternatives for contribution,” he added.
The developments come amid heightened tensions between Iran and the U.S. over the Strait of Hormuz, despite the signing of a memorandum in June that envisioned a deal to reopen the strategic waterway as a prelude to a wider peace agreement.
Set as preferred source
Set as preferred source
1 min read
1 min read
