The rate of vaccination against COVID-19 is displayed in the form of a temperature tower at an intersection in Gwangjin-gu district, Seoul in South Korea on January 12. Photo: VCG

South Korea has used $18 million of frozen Iranian assets to pay Tehran's dues to the UN, Seoul said Sunday, in a move to immediately restore the country's voting rights.

The payment was made Friday in cooperation with the US and the UN after Iran made an "emergency request" asking South Korea to pay the dues, Seoul's finance ministry said in a statement.

Iran has more than $7 billion in funds for oil shipments frozen at two South Korean banks due to US sanctions.

"Iran's voting right at the UN General Assembly is expected to be immediately restored with the payment," the ministry said.

Tehran's mission to the UN told AFP the payment had been "completed."

The Islamic republic was South Korea's third-largest Middle Eastern trade partner before the US unilaterally withdrew from a 2015 nuclear deal between Tehran and world powers and reimposed crippling sanctions.

The UN cited unpaid dues when it suspended Iran's voting rights at the General Assembly in earlier January.

Under the UN charter, a member country's right to vote is suspended when its arrears equal or exceed the dues it should have paid over the preceding two years.

Iran also lost its vote over unpaid dues in 2021. It said it could not pay even the minimum amount because of US economic sanctions.

In 2021, Iran managed to pay $16 million of its $65 million arrears to recover its vote after Tehran was granted an exemption from the sanctions and was allowed to access money blocked by the US Treasury. This time the minimum amount Iran must pay is over $18 million.

Two South Korea banks hold $7-9 billion of Iranian money, owed for oil imports.

After months of negotiations it was granted an exemption - it was allowed to access money blocked by the US Treasury - and got back its vote in June in time for the election of new members of the Security Council.