The story: Iran is preparing to take legal action against the South Korean government over the freezing of Iranian assets by two Korean banks. For years, Tehran has been unable to access the funds—estimated at some 7B USD—due to US extraterritorial sanctions.

Meanwhile, reports say a potential Iran-US prisoner swap has hit a snag over the detention of another American citizen. The exchange is tied to South Korea in that the unfreezing of Iranian assets is likely an essential part of any bargain between Tehran and Washington.

The coverage: The official IRNA news agency reported on July 29 that the government had submitted a bill to the parliament allowing the Central Bank of Iran to seek arbitration to resolve the dispute with the South Korean government.

• IRNA said the bill was approved by the Ebrahim Raisi administration on July 5 and submitted to the legislature on July 22.
  
  
• Mohammad Dehqan, Raisi's deputy for legal affairs, stated that the government would "not hesitate" to take legal action but...