An Iranian government spokesman has called South Korea a “hostage taker” over freezing Tehran’s $7 billion in assets there.
Ali Rabiei's comments on Tuesday come a day after Iran seized a South Korean-flagged tanker in the Strait of Hormuz.
While Iran claims it seized the ship over polluting the Persian Gulf and the strait, the move came just ahead of a South Korean diplomat heading to Tehran to negotiate over the funds frozen amid a U.S. pressure campaign.
Mr. Rabiei said: “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.”
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