Talking to reporters after attending a meeting of the Iranian Parliament's Industries and Mines Commission, he said that Foreign Ministry and Central Bank of Iran have made many efforts to free blocked funds; Positive measures have been taken by some countries, including Oman and China, to return the money, but South Korea has not done much.
Although South Korea has no doubt that the blocked money belongs to, it claims that there are problems in transferring the money due to illegal US sanctions, he said.
Commenting on Iran-China 25-year-old deal, he added that the deal with the country does not mean that the West does not matter; rather it means that the countries should have all-out relations.
Zarif said that the government had considered all-out relations with other countries from the beginning.
The visit of Mr. Xi Jinping, President of the Republic of China, to Iran in 2016 can be considered as the first foreign trip after the implementation of the JCPOA, he said.
During the visit, the two sides agreed to promote the two countries' relations from strategic partnership to comprehensive strategic partnership, as the Chinese government now has comprehensive strategic partnership with countries such as South Africa, Algeria, major Central Asian countries such as Kazakhstan and some important European states.
Noting that the ties are two-way, Zarif said that at the same time, the presidents of Iran and China announced that a comprehensive strategic partnership would be a 25-year plan.
Commenting on the conclusion of the deal between Iran and China, he said, "Talks are underway to finalize the draft. I even announced in a videoconference with the Chinese Foreign Minister that we are ready to negotiate to finalize this issue."
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