Majid Takht Ravanchi, Iran’s ambassador and permanent representative to the UN, confirmed on Sunday that the country has had its voting rights restored after its membership fees were paid.
The suspended voting rights should be back in place on Monday. The $18 million was paid by South Korea with Iranian assets, which were frozen due to US sanctions. There is currently over $7 billion in Iranian oil shipment payments frozen in two South Korean banks, according to AFP.
Seoul’s Finance Ministry also announced that the payment had been made in a Sunday statement following Tehran’s request last week that the frozen funds be used to cover the membership costs.
Iran’s voting rights had been suspended earlier this month, along with multiple other countries, over unpaid membership dues. The Islamic Republic had said that US sanctions were making it difficult to keep up with UN payments, and their voting rights were previously suspended last year. Tehran has said the money in South Korea is being held “hostage,” while Seoul would not confirm how much of the $7 billion remains after this week’s UN payment.