Vessels in the Strait of Hormuz near the beach of Bandar Abbas, Iran, on Sept. 5REUTERS/YONHAP
Korea is stuck between a rock and a hard place as Iran says it will deem Korea to be siding with the United States if Seoul sends troops, but Washington has stayed silent on whether participation would be enough to appease the already-disgruntled U.S. President Donald Trump.
A senior Iranian official warned that any Korean involvement in the conflict in the Strait of Hormuz would be considered participation in the war, Lebanon's pro-Hezbollah outlet Al Mayadeen reported Friday.
An anonymous Iranian security and political official said in an interview that Korea should not “respond to American pressures and overlook the fact that aggression is the cause of insecurity in the strait,” the report said.
The senior official said that Tehran hopes Seoul will not "sacrifice its interests and reputation for the sake of American policies that undermine security and stability" and "the sake of aggressive U.S. policies.”
"Any involvement in U.S. military operations is direct participation in the military war on Iran,” the senior official said in the report, adding that Tehran "will never show leniency toward any complicity in aggressive crimes against the Iranian people and their rights."
The official stated that regional security cannot be restored as long as the illegal intervention against Iran continues.
President Lee Jae Myung speaks at a Cabinet meeting at the Blue House in central Seoul on Sept. 1.YONHAP
Iran’s Fars News Agency also cited the official’s remarks and reported on the stance of Korea’s presidential office.
The news outlet said no decision has yet been made in response to Trump’s pressure to participate in the war against Iran, but indicated that Korea could deploy a "search and rescue unit" to the Strait of Hormuz.
The problem is that the United States is not showing clear-cut signs of appreciation toward Korea's military plans; specifically, whether the deployment of search-and-rescue teams would be enough.
As the Korean government considers ways to make a military contribution to maintaining peace and stability in the Strait of Hormuz, the United States declined to tell the JoongAng Ilbo on Friday whether the assets Seoul is considering deploying would constitute a sufficient military contribution, saying only that Trump expects U.S. allies to step up.
Asked about the Korean government’s consideration of deploying noncombat assets, including a logistics support ship, a P-8A maritime patrol aircraft and explosive ordnance disposal personnel, an official from the U.S. Department of Defense referred inquiries about any potential deployment to the Korean government.
The official added that President Trump has stated publicly that he expects allies to step up and support freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz.
U.S. President Donald Trump disembarks from Air Force One at Morristown on Sept. 4 in New Jersey.AP/YONHAP
The official also did not answer questions about what roles Washington would want those assets to perform in coordination with U.S. forces or when it would want them deployed and operational in the Strait of Hormuz.
As discussions continue, a Blue House official left open the possibility of a deployment to Hormuz as they search for options that do not significantly undermine the nation's readiness posture on the Korean Peninsula.
“A substantive contribution includes a military contribution,” the official said to reporters on Friday. “Military contributions can take various forms, including combat and noncombat roles, and we are reviewing a range of options.”
“Whether one person goes or two, if they are sent to the area, it constitutes a deployment,” the official said. “When people hear ‘deployment,’ they may think of a large contingent of combat troops, but that does not necessarily have to be the case.”
This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
