Iran's Ministry of Foreign Affairs "Korea should refrain from sending troops to Hormuz... Concerns about worsening situation"

“The two countries have maintained friendly relations for over 60 years… I hope we will not be seen as accomplices to military aggression.”

(Cairo = Yonhap News) Correspondent Kim Sang-hoon = The Iranian government expressed strong concern about the possibility of the Korean Navy deploying troops to the region to resume passage through the Strait of Hormuz and urged it to refrain from intervening.

In response to a question about the expansion of the operational area of ​​the South Korean Cheonghae Unit at a regular briefing on the 9th (local time), Esmail Bagai, spokesman for Iran's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said, "Korea should refrain from sending military forces to the region in the name of supporting the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz. It should avoid intervening in a situation that is already sufficiently complicated."

Spokesperson Bagai said of the relationship between the two countries, "Iran and Korea have maintained a long-standing friendly relationship based on mutual respect and the interests of both countries for more than 60 years."

He emphasized, "However, the Iranian people do not want countries other than the United States and the Zionist (Israel) regime and some allies, who directly or indirectly supported the recent military invasion, to sympathize with them."

He warned, “I hope that we will not be seen as an accomplice to military aggression by sharing the same views as the United States.”

Spokesperson Bagai added, “We hope that the international community, including Korea, will pay attention to the wide-ranging and harmful repercussions of the illegal actions of the United States and Israel,” adding, “We hope that they will refrain from any actions that could further complicate the situation in the region.”

Under pressure from the United States, our government decided to expand the mission area of ​​the Cheonghae Unit, which protects merchant ships in the Gulf of Aden waters in Somalia, to the waters south of Oman, closer to the Strait of Hormuz.

It was also decided to dispatch additional forces such as maritime patrol aircraft, explosive ordnance disposal (EOD), and unmanned minesweeping equipment.