SEOUL: South Korea will transfer $550m to Iran in its first back oil payment under an interim nuclear deal that eases sanctions on Tehran, sources with direct knowledge of the matter said yesterday.
The payment tomorrow will come after Japan cleared some of its dues as the UN atomic watchdog said the Islamic republic is reducing its most proliferation-prone nuclear stockpile as required under a landmark deal signed with six world powers.
Under the November pact, Iran won access to $4.2bn of its oil revenues frozen abroad in eight money transfers scheduled through July, pending confirmation it is carrying out its promises to curb its nuclear programme.
The second and third payment schedules were due March 1 and March 7, for $450m and $550m, respectively. Japan started off the payments with a $550m transfer on February 1.
“Oil import payment will be made tomorrow,” a source with direct knowledge of South Korea’s payment said. “How the money will be exchanged will be further discussed with Iran.”
Iran will soon receive a second instalment of previously frozen oil monies under the interim nuclear agreement, the official IRNA news agency reported, citing the country’s central bank chief.
The official, Valiollah Seif, did not say where the funds would be coming from. The tough sanctions slapped on the Opec member in 2012 had closed the option for buyers of Iran’s crude to transfer money to settle their oil payments, putting a stranglehold on the nation’s revenues and crippling its economy.
The Iranian central bank held up to $5.6bn in two won-denominated accounts at Woori
Bank and Industrial Bank
of Korea, both state-owned, as of late 2013, according to a source last month.
Another source said: “It is likely that Woori will transfer the money to Iran after receiving some from IBK.”
Iran’s top four oil clients — China, India, Japan and South Korea — together cut oil imports from Iran by 15 percent to an average of 935,862 bpd in 2013, government and industry data showed. Reuters
