Iranian Foreign Ministry on Cheonghae Unit Mission Expansion: "Follow the 'U.S.' and Your Legs Will Split"

Spokesperson posts image of a stork with "Stars and Stripes" wings falling on social media
Raises warning level, dropping mention of "friendly relations"

Esmaeil Baghaei Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson issued a warning message quoting a Korean proverb in response to the South Korean government's plan to expand the Cheonghae Unit's mission.

A post and image uploaded to X by a spokesperson for Iran's Ministry of Foreign Affairs on the 12th (local time). Screenshot of Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei's social media page.

On November 12 (local time), the spokesperson posted on his X (formerly Twitter) account the Korean proverb, "If a sparrow tries to follow a stork, its legs will split," along with an image illustrating the saying. The English-language post included a sentence with the same meaning and identified its source as a "Korean proverb."

The image he posted shows a sparrow perched on a rock looking up at a stork whose wings bear the stars and stripes. The stork is falling, and an Iranian flag is planted on the cliff opposite. Warships and an oil tanker are floating in the sea below the cliffs, evoking the Strait of Hormuz.

Earlier, the South Korean government decided, amid U.S. pressure, to expand the Cheonghae Unit's area of operations from the waters off Aden in the Gulf of Aden, Somalia, to waters south of Oman, closer to the Strait of Hormuz. It is also proceeding with arrangements to deploy additional assets, including a maritime patrol aircraft, an explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) team, and unmanned mine-clearing equipment.

In response, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on November 10 that it was "proceeding with a motion to approve an extension of the deployment to strengthen the Cheonghae Unit's mission under the principles of non-involvement and non-intervention in war, with the aim of protecting Korean nationals and safeguarding economic interests," adding that it was continuing to communicate with Iran and other countries concerned.

Spokesperson Baghaei said that "directly or indirectly participating in acts of aggression against Iran or in inhumane economic terrorism by providing naval forces, military and logistics support equipment, or personnel would be regarded as a hostile and unlawful act that contributes to U.S. aggression against Iran." He also pointed out that such actions would violate Article 2(4) of the UN Charter, which prohibits the use of force, and would also fall under the definition of aggression set out in UN General Assembly Resolution 3314.

He said that "putting forward seemingly legitimate justifications, such as 'protecting freedom of navigation' or 'combating piracy,' does not change the unlawful and hostile nature of such actions," sarcastically referring to the South Korean government's cited reason for seeking to expand the Cheonghae Unit's mission: that piracy near the Gulf of Aden had increased more than threefold.

"Our message is clear. No bilateral agreement or commitment with the United States can provide legitimate grounds for a country to violate its obligations under international law or participate in U.S. and Israeli military aggression against Iran," he said."Any country that participates in this unlawful aggression in any form will bear full responsibility for the consequences," he warned.

The post came three days after Spokesperson Baghaei urged South Korea, at a regular briefing on November 9, to refrain from deploying forces in the region. In response to a question about expanding the Cheonghae Unit's area of operations, he said, "South Korea should refrain from deploying military forces in the region under the pretext of supporting the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz," adding that it "should avoid getting involved in an already sufficiently complex situation."

As for relations between the two countries, he had said, "Iran and South Korea have maintained longstanding friendly relations for more than 60 years, based on mutual respect and the interests of both countries." This time, however, he raised the level of his warning, invoking "unlawful" and "hostile acts" without mentioning their friendly ties.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.