“Iranian citizens can refer to any of the bank’s branches and open accounts and receive bank cards,” according to an embassy statement published by IRNA. The statement further said some government and banking officials of South Korea “refrain from presenting evidence and convincing answers, and defer the review and resolution of banking issues to the future” in light of US sanctions. It also called on students and other Iranian residents in South Korea to run their criticisms up the chain of command to make their voices heard, adding that current openings have been made after the embassy’s negotiations with “high-level Korean entities”.