North Korea supports Iran’s new supreme leader

Pyongyang said it respects the decision of Iran's Supreme Leader's Assembly of Experts to elect Mojtaba Khamenei as supreme leader. He was announced as the new supreme leader on March 8. Earlier, on February 28, his father and long-time supreme leader Ali Khamenei was killed in a US-Israeli attack.

The state news agency Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) quoted a spokesman for the North Korean Foreign Ministry as saying that in light of the recent announcement by the Assembly of Experts on the election of a new leader of Iran's Islamic Revolution, we respect the right and decision of the Iranian people to elect their supreme leader.

At the same time, the spokesman strongly criticized the US and Israeli military operations against Iran. He said that the illegal military attacks by the US and Israel against Iran are destroying the foundation of regional peace and security and increasing instability in the world. We express our deep concern and condemn this aggression in the strongest terms.

Tensions in the Middle East escalated after Israel and the United States launched a joint attack on Iran on February 28. According to various reports, Iran responded with drone and missile strikes targeting Israeli and US military installations in the Gulf.

The strike-and-retaliation conflict has so far killed more than 1,200 people and left eight US soldiers dead. Several Israeli soldiers and civilians have also been reported killed.

Source: Anadolu