South Korea has not bought oil from Iran for almost three months, according to an official from Iran's Oil Ministry quoted by news agency Shana on Sunday.
Kasra Nouri, director of public relations at the ministry, said South Korea was the first country to completely halt its oil purchases from Iran following Washington's withdrawal in May from the 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and world powers, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
According to Shana's report, Nouri's remarks came in response to 'repeated claims by South Korean officials regarding continuation of interactions of Korean companies with Iran despite U.S. pressure'.
Shana added that South Korea's new ambassador to Iran, Yu Chang Hwang, said on Saturday that Korean companies would continue to work with Iran, despite the U.S. pullout from the agreement, and the reimposition of sanctions against Tehran.
According to Shana's report, which cited Iran's Mehr News Agency, Yu was speaking in a meeting with Deputy Chairman of Tehran Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture for International Affairs Mohammad Reza Bakhtiari.
'South Korean companies did not cut their trade and business cooperation with Iranian economic enterprises in the sanctions period,' the ambassador reportedly said, referring to economic sanctions against Iran before the JCPOA.
India, South Korea and Japan are three major customers of Iranian crude oil in Asia, according to Shana, which said, before May, South Korea imported an average of 180,000 barrels per day from Iran.
By Hale Turkes
Anadolu Agency
energy@aa.com.tr