▲ This image of the National Intelligence Service is provided by the agency. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

spy agency-Iran crisis

Spy agency launches 24-hr emergency response team in response to Middle East crisis

SEOUL, March 3 (Yonhap) -- The National Intelligence Service (NIS) has launched an around-the-clock emergency response team to monitor developments in the Middle East following U.S.-Israeli strikes against Iran and assist with the safe evacuation of nationals from the region, officials said Tuesday.

The NIS is in cooperation with other spy agencies of like-minded countries to conduct the monitoring, officials said, amid escalating tensions after recent attacks by the United States and Israel on Iran, which killed Iran's supreme leader and prompted retaliatory strikes on U.S. bases in the Middle East.

Officials said the NIS is also closely tracking potential supply chain risk factors and providing relevant information to government agencies, while reviewing the latest conditions in the energy, logistics, defense manufacturing and shipbuilding industries following the closure of the Strait of Hormuz.

On the day of the attack on Iran last Saturday, the NIS also formed a task force led by its director to hold an emergency situation assessment meeting every day, officials said.

(END)

[ⓒ K-VIBE. 무단전재-재배포 금지]