The story: South Korean Vice Foreign Minister Choi Jong-Kun has met with Iranian and western officials in Vienna, giving rise to speculations about how a revival of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal may look. Ties between Tehran and Seoul have frayed in the aftermath of the 2018 US withdrawal from the nuclear accord and reimposition of all sanctions. Apart from cutting South Korean imports of Iranian condensate, US sanctions have reportedly left 7B USD worth of Iranian assets frozen in Korean banks.

Against this backdrop, a prominent Iranian analyst has charged that the first stage of a US re-entry into the nuclear deal may involve the unfreezing of Iranian assets in Iraq and South Korea in exchange for a freeze on 60% enrichment.

The coverage: Choi met with a series of officials in the Austrian capital last week, where Iran and world powers are negotiating a revival of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), as the nuclear deal is formally known...