South Korea summoned the Iranian Ambassador to Seoul after a cargo ship was attacked in the Strait of Hormuz earlier this month
Park Yoon-joo from the South Korean government said that "Various pieces of evidence point toward Iran"
Iranian ambassador Saeed Koozechi, on his part, denied his country' s involvement in the attack
In the midst of a fresh round of escalations and global anticipation for a diplomatic workaround concerning one of the world’s most important waterways, attacks on ships have caused yet another unease in Iranian embassies. Recently, for instance, South Korea summoned the Iranian Ambassador to Seoul after a cargo ship was attacked in the Strait of Hormuz earlier this month.
According to Reuters, Namu, the beleaguered ship was attacked twice- with the second warhead exploding and- causing a fire and damaging the lower stern hull. In a statement released recently, following an investigation by the government, Iranian involvement in the attack was revealed prima facie.
First Vice Foreign Minister Park Yoon-joo from the South Korean government said that "Various pieces of evidence point toward Iran.” The probe, as per Yonhap news agency, centred around debris from unidentified objects recovered from the ship.
According to the South Korean minister, the warheads resembled those used in Iranian anti-ship missiles such as the Noor or Qader. He further added that "Their engines were similar to turbojet engines made in Iran" while components shared similar marking to those of an Iranian manufacturer in a reference to the propulsion system.
Park said “based on a technical analysis of the debris, including the projectile’s engine, warhead, explosives, and fuselage, we have concluded that…were very likely to have been anti-ship missiles from the Iranian-developed Noor series.”
Notably Park stopped short of directly naming the Iranian establishment. He said “While it cannot be said definitively who exactly was responsible, various evidence at the moment is pointing to Iran.”
The Iranian ambassador Saeed Koozechi, on his part, denied his country' s involvement in the attack which he termed as ‘regrettable”.
Read alongside recent summons from Ministries of Foreign Affairs of the United Arab Emirates and Jordan for protests against recent attacks targeting their territories, Iranian embassies have their task cut out.
Consider, for instance, Trump’s commentary on the incident- urging Seoul to join American initiatives for securing passage through the strait.
India, similarly, ‘called in’ Iran’s ambassador to India last month with foreign secretary Vikram Misri conveying “India’s deep concern at the shooting incident… involving two Indian-flagged ships in the Strait of Hormuz.”
