Iran Threatens South Korean Assets If Seoul Joins Hormuz Mission

Via Middle East Eye

Iranian academic Mohammad Marandi has warned that Tehran would consider South Korea an enemy and could strike its economic and military interests across the Persian Gulf if Seoul joins the US-led war on Iran.

Speaking on Al Mayadeen’s The Grand Standoff, Marandi said South Korea’s involvement in efforts to secure freedom of navigation through the Strait of Hormuz would expose its interests in the region to Iranian retaliation. US Army AH-64 Apache helicopters at Camp Humphreys in Pyeongtaek, South Korea, 21 August 2026 (Yonhap/AFP)

“If the South Koreans participate in this war against Iran, Iran will see it as the enemy,” Marandi said, adding that Tehran would seek to “destroy whatever assets South Korea has in this region”.

Those targets would not necessarily be military installations, he said, and Iranian strikes could include South Korean assets in Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar.

“So the Koreans are very vulnerable to Iran,” said Marandi. “Iran can hurt them very badly.”

His comments came as South Korea considers potential naval contributions to efforts to restore freedom of navigation through the Strait of Hormuz, a vital waterway for global energy supplies.Various options are under consideration, but no decision has been mad e, South Korea’s presidential office said on Friday.

The office said general options had been discussed on possible military contributions, including combat participation, noncombat roles and search operations, Al Jazeera reported. “Please be advised that nothing has been decided yet concerning actual contributions,” the presidential office said.

Seoul was considering sending military assets to the region and seeking approval from parliament, South Korean media reported.  Options under consideration included a P-8 Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft and a naval logistics support ship, a report by The Guardian said.

South Korean broadcasters also reported that a navy explosive ordnance disposal team could be included. Any new deployment of military personnel would have to be reviewed by South Korea’s National Security Council, passed by a resolution of the cabinet and approved by the National Assembly, the presidential office said.

The debate comes as South Korea faces mounting pressure from Washington to join efforts around the Strait of Hormuz. US President Donald Trump has blasted Seoul for not backing the US war on Iran and tied the spat to wider strains in the US-South Korea alliance. South Korea also depends heavily on the waterway for its energy supplies.

Last year, the country depended on shipments traversing Hormuz for 61 percent of its crude oil imports and 54 percent of its naphtha imports.

Marandi said the potential contribution was not likely to be a game-changer in the conflict and said South Korea had little military capability to contribute to the US. “What is a ship or two from South Korea going to do? It’s foolish,” he said.

Trump blasts South Korea: I called the president of South Korea. I said, “Would you help with Iran? If you would like, we don’t need help.” He said, “No thanks.” I said, “What do you mean? We have 39,000 soldiers over there guarding you from Kim Jong Un, and you are not going… pic.twitter.com/xD1dZ1AANQ — Clash Report (@clashreport) August 17, 2026 But he warned that any participation could have economic implications far beyond military assets. “Iran will not only target the South Korean military assets, but Iran could easily destroy their economic assets across the Persian Gulf region,” Marandi said.

Under pressure from Washington, South Korea expanded the deployment of an anti-piracy naval unit from Somalia to waters around the Strait of Hormuz in 2019.

However, South Korea’s defense minister said in March that any substantially different mission in the strait would require parliamentary consent.

Tyler Durden Sun, 09/06/2026 - 21:20

Oil gains as US attacks on Iranian ships raise escalation risks Iran says a new restricted zone outside of Hormuz will be declared in the coming days - Crude surged in the week ended Sep 6 after hostilities flared between the US and Iran after a period of relative calm.

PHOTO: REUTERS OIL climbed after the US attacked Iranian tankers and Teheran declared a new restricted zone outside of the Strait of Hormuz, raising concerns about prolonged disruptions to energy flows through the waterway. Brent gained as much as 0.

8 per cent to trade near US$97 a barrel at the open, while West Texas Intermediate was around US$92. The US said it launched strikes against three Iranian oil tankers over the Sep 5-6 weekend, destroying one, in retaliation for attacks on American Navy warships with ballistic missiles.

In response, Iran’s top security official said a new restricted zone outside of Hormuz will be declared in the coming days, beginning at the US Navy blockade line and extending into parts of the Persian Gulf, Iran’s Press TV reported. Iran also said it targeted three tankers, but there was no independent corroboration.

Crude surged in the week ended Sep 6 after hostilities flared between the US and Iran after a period of relative calm. Brent crude is up almost 60 per cent in 2026, with refined products such as diesel seeing even steeper gains due to the Middle East conflict and the Russia-Iran war.

US Energy Secretary Chris Wright said there will not be any let-up in the US naval presence, which includes the blockade to stymie Iranian oil exports as well as helping to ensure safe passage for other commercial ships through the strait. Wright recently said millions of barrels were exiting Hormuz daily.

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The new head of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council says the country plans to announce an “exclusion zone” outside the Strait of Hormuz aimed at vessels it believes are attempting to transit the waterway. Mohsen Rezaei’s comments to Iran’s state broadcaster came with few details, a day after the US struck three Iranian oil tankers in response to what it said was Iran launching ballistic missiles at US warships.

The new zone should be announced in the coming days and weeks and “will begin from the line of the US naval blockade, extend toward the Strait of Hormuz, and from this side continue into the Persian Gulf,” Rezaei said. “Any ship that enters this area with the intention of passing through the Strait of Hormuz and is identified will be placed on our sanctions list.

” It is not clear where Iran defines the location of the weeks-long US blockade, which is aimed at Iranian ports and keeping Iran from shipping out its oil. The US military has said more than 20 warships are supporting the blockade, which as of Sunday had redirected 92 commercial ships and disabled three.

The US has been introducing new measures to increase the economic pain on Iran after negotiations collapsed and no end to the intermittent fighting appears in sight. Meanwhile, Iran continues to attack some ships trying to transit the strait, which has become an important source of leverage in the war that began February 28 with US and Israeli strikes.

Iran earlier on Sunday said it struck an unmanned US vessel trying to enter the Strait of Hormuz, a claim that the US military dismissed as a “total lie”. The strait is crucial to global oil and natural gas shipments and was seen as an international waterway before the war began.

On Sunday, US Energy Secretary Chris Wright said that on average, nine million barrels of oil a day are getting through the strait, which should help to relieve pressure on energy prices. His estimate appeared to exceed average flows over the past 28 days through the strait, according to TankerTrackers.

com and other sources. Wright told CNN that with oil also flowing through pipelines in the region, “we’re probably two-thirds or more of pre-conflict flows”. But those flows depend on the presence of the US navy to help escort tankers and provide some protection against possible Iranian attack.

Wright said he expected that other countries would eventually support the US navy’s efforts. Meanwhile, Rezaei in his interview with state TV insisted that “every day we are selling one million, one and a half million (barrels), as if Iran’s oil production and trade are continuing as usual”.

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This is an entry from: Live: Iran turns to land trade routes to counter maritime blockade Iran accuses US of making world pay for war it started 6 September 2026 22:41 BST Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Ismail Baghaei has accused Washington of blaming Tehran for turmoil caused by the US-Israeli war against Iran.

In a post on X, Baghaei said the Strait of Hormuz remained fully open until the US and Israel attacked Iran on February 28. He said Washington’s “illegal and brutal war” disrupted commercial shipping, halted oil tankers and drove up global energy prices.

Baghaei accused the US of starting the conflict and then attempting to make the rest of the world bear its costs while portraying Iran as responsible for the resulting crisis.