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| ▲ This EPA composite file photo shows U.S. President Donald Trump (L) and Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Iranian state media confirmed that Ayatollah Khamenei was killed in a joint U.S.-Israeli military operation. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap) |
N Korea-Middle East situation
N Korea condemns U.S.-Israel attack on Iran as 'gangster-like conduct'
SEOUL, March 1 (Yonhap) -- North Korea on Sunday strongly condemned military strikes against Iran by the United States and Israel, calling them "gangster-like conduct."
The U.S. and Israel launched a joint attack on Iran on Saturday (U.S. time) in a large-scale military operation that the Iranian state media said killed its Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, amid a stalemate in indirect nuclear talks between Washington and Tehran.
In a statement carried by the Korea Central News Agency (KCNA), Pyongyang said Israel's attack on Iran was conducted with the active support and backing of the U.S., and that Washington's subsequent military actions constituted a "thoroughly unlawful act of aggression" and a "gross violation of sovereignty."
The U.S.' long-standing military threats against Iran in the Middle East had long been expected to escalate into an actual military attack, which the KCNA said clearly demonstrated Washington's "hegemonic and gangster-like nature."
"Such acts of aggression cannot be justified by any means and can never be tolerated under any circumstances," the state media said.
The latest strike, codenamed "Operation Epic Fury," came eight months after the U.S. carried out "Operation Midnight Hammer" targeting key Iranian nuclear facilities, fueling fears of a broader regional conflict at a time when Washington has been seeking to sharpen its focus on countering its top geopolitical rival, China.
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