South Korea will not deploy troops to intervene militarily in the Iran war, President Lee Jae Myung said Friday, following reports that Seoul was weighing a possible deployment to the Strait of Hormuz.
"There will be no involvement or intervention in the war. We will not deploy troops or military assets in that manner," Lee told reporters at a press conference at the presidential Blue House.
However, the government is considering whether to expand its role safeguarding navigation through the Strait of Hormuz, Lee said.
Meanwhile, Iran's Revolutionary Guards said Friday they struck an oil tanker sailing under the Togolese flag in the Strait of Hormuz, state news agency IRNA reported.
Tehran has imposed an effective blockade of the strait since the United States and Israel struck Iran in late February.
The Islamic republic wants to charge tolls for passage, attacking ships it accuses of attempting to circumvent its preferred route.
"The Togo-flagged oil tanker 'Trend' had been targeted and detained after a fire broke out on board," the statement said, referring to an attempted "illegal passage" through the vital waterway.
The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) announced Thursday a "security incident in the Strait of Hormuz, 16 nautical miles (29.6 km) northeast of Khasab, Oman".
UKMTO did not provide details about the vessel involved, and it is unclear whether it is the same mentioned by the Revolutionary Guards.
Iran ministry summons German ambassador
The Iranian foreign ministry summoned Germany’s ambassador to object to “inappropriate statements” from Berlin, a reference to recent critical remarks by Chancellor Friedrich Merz.
After a meeting with the visiting Iraqi prime minister on Tuesday, Merz demanded Iran lift its blockade on the Strait of Hormuz, cease its support for armed groups across the region and put an end to its “military nuclear programme”, which Tehran has consistently denied pursuing.
The Iranian ministry said in a statement that ambassador Axel Wilhelm Dittmann was called in following the “inappropriate statements by senior German officials against Iran, as well as certain interventionist actions by the German embassy in Tehran”.