South Korea's 'Lost Credibility' 'A Joke': Iran Slams South Korea's Face Mask Donation Amid Tensions Over Frozen Funds

 'A Joke': Iran Slams South Korea's Face Mask Donation Amid Tensions Over Frozen Funds

Many Iranians reacted angrily on Twitter, with some blasting the move as “a joke,” an “insult,” and the “belittling” of a nation that has been struggling with the Middle East’s deadliest outbreak of the coronavirus while also facing crippling U.S. economic sanctions.

Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh on November 1 called the donation “a joke,” adding that “no nation will tolerate another nation [stealing] from it.”

Khatibzadeh said South Korea should return the around $7 billion of Iranian funds frozen in two South Korean banks.

 South Korea's 'Lost Credibility'

Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman was not the only public figure to express outrage at South Korea’s donation of the face masks.

Lawmaker Alireza Salimi, addressing parliament on November 2, asked whether Seoul knew how many face masks and COVID-19 vaccines Iran could purchase just with the interest accumulated from its funds being kept in South Korean banks.

Salimi added that South Korea could not rebuild its “lost credibility” among Iranians by simply donating masks.

イランが韓国に激怒　「マスクよりカネ返せ」

2021/11/9 1

ーーーイランへの制裁はやめるべきだな。