Seoul is sending a fact-finding mission to the UAE as it balances Washington’s security requests with warnings of Iranian retaliation
4-MIN READ4-MINPark Chan-kyongPublished: 5:00pm, 9 Sep 2026South Korea is inching closer to a potentially risky military role in the Strait of Hormuz after sending a fact-finding team to the Middle East, with Seoul weighing US pressure to contribute against the threat of Iranian retaliation.The mission underscores the dilemma Seoul faces over supporting a major security ally and avoiding being dragged into a conflict it did not start. Observers argue that any deployment should be delayed, limited and conducted through a broader coalition rather than under American command.The South Korean team left for the United Arab Emirates over the weekend and was reportedly assessing operational conditions for a potential deployment.
Seoul’s Ministry of National Defence maintained that the mission “is not being conducted on the premise that an actual deployment would take place” and denied reports that Washington had requested troop deployments by November.
Addressing the potential deployment, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei wrote in Korean on social media on Monday: “The military presence or operational participation of other nations in the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz would inevitably be viewed as direct support for the party committing acts of aggression, and would lead to serious consequences.”
The UAE hosts military forces and support facilities operated by the US and other allied countries. If approved, South Korean forces are expected to use a UAE base as their main operating hub.
