Ep.220 Iran’s seizure of S. Korean tanker and Biden’s Iran policy outlook
World Ch. Schedule : THU 20:00 KST
Date : 2021-01-14
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps has detained a South Korean-flagged oil tanker in the Strait of Hormuz over environmental violations which the ship’s operators denied. Iran pressed a demand for Seoul to release US$ 7 bil. in funds frozen under U.S. sanctions. Prior to the incident, Iran had been in talks with the South Korean foreign ministry to use the frozen funds to pay for COVID-19 vaccines through the global COVAX initiative. Many experts view the seizure was meant to pressure South Korea to grant Iran access to the funds, with some interpreting it as a message to the incoming U.S. Biden administration. In this week’s edition of Foreign Correspondents, we sit down with our panel of journalists to discuss the possible motives behind the incident by looking at the political situation Iran finds itself today.
In-studio guests
- Nicolas ROCCA, Correspondent / RFI
- Komeil SOHEILI / Freelance Journalist
- Josh SMITH / Senior Correspondent, Reuters
Skype Interview Guests
- Michael SINGH, Managing director / The Washington Institute
- Abbas MILANI, Director of Iranian Studies / Stanford University
