The Iranian foreign ministry said on Monday that it is awaiting an explanation from the South Korean government regarding President Yoon Suk Yeol's description of Iran as the "enemy of the United Arab Emirates(UAE)."

Iran’s state-run Islamic Republic News Agency reported that Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson Nasser Kanaani said that the ministry is seriously following Yoon’s remarks that he reportedly called “undiplomatic.”

The spokesperson said the comment shows an unawareness by the South Korean president of Iran’s historical ties with neighboring states, including the UAE, as well as the positive developments happening with respect to those relationships.

Kanaani added that Tehran is awaiting a response from Seoul regarding the matter.

In a visit on Sunday to the Akh unit, a South Korean military contingent in the UAE, President Yoon drew a comparison between South Korea’s precarious situation with neighboring North Korea and the UAE’s relationship with “the most threatening country” of Iran.

A senior official from the presidential office said that Yoon made the remarks to encourage South Korean soldiers in the unit, stressing the grave security situation of the UAE as he likened the national security of the Middle Eastern “brother country” to South Korea's.

Source: KBS World Radio