South Korea appears ready to participate in implementing U.S. sanctions on Iran.

The U.S. sanctions prohibit transactions between American financial institutions and companies or countries that trade with blacklisted Iranian financial institutions or companies.

A senior official at the Ministry of Strategy and Finance in Seoul said South Korean companies should operate in line with the sanctions to avoid punitive actions that could result.

The official added that the sanctions ban even the export of products and services.

The Seoul branch of Iran’s Bank Mellat is being probed on suspicions of links to weapons of mass destruction and terrorism.

South Korea imports nine-point-five percent of its petroleum needs from Iran, meaning the sanctions could deal a severe blow to the Korean economy. Accordingly, the official said Seoul is devising methods to cooperate in maintaining international peace while also minimizing the impact of the sanctions on the Korean economy.