Iran's arrears have been paid to the United Nations and as soon as Iran’s debt of its membership fee at the UN is collected in New York, Iran’s voting rights should naturally resume on Monday of the current week, Takht-Ravanchi said.
“The Islamic Republic of Iran, as an active member of the United Nations, has always been committed to paying its membership dues on time and we have proven this in action,” the ambassador added.
“Unfortunately, for the second year in a row, we faced the problem of paying our membership fee due to the imposition of brutal and unilateral US sanctions against Iran,” he noted.
Seoul's finance ministry confirmed of Sunday Iran has paid its dues to the United Nations with the country's funds frozen in South Korea in a move to immediately restore its voting power.
Iran has more than US$7 billion in funds for oil shipments frozen at two South Korean banks -- the Industrial Bank of Korea and Woori Bank -- due to US sanctions.
The US reimposed the sanctions on Iran in 2018 when then US President Donald Trump pulled out of a 2015 landmark nuclear agreement with Iran and five major world powers.
The South Korean Ministry of Economy and Finance said $18 million, part of the delinquent fees, was paid to the UN on Friday, using the Tehran assets frozen in South Korea after consultations with related organizations, including the U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control and the UN Secretariat.
"Iran's right to vote at the General Assembly is expected to be restored immediately with the payment," the ministry said in a statement.
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