North Korea has thrown its weight behind Iran’s new top leadership, issuing its strongest condemnation yet of the US-Israeli war against Tehran, even as Kim Jong-un personally oversaw test-fires of strategic cruise missiles from Pyongyang’s most powerful warship – signaling that the conflict in West Asia is now drawing nuclear-armed states far beyond the Middle East.
North Korea backs Mojtab Khamenei as Iran’s new supreme leader
The state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on Wednesday quoted a spokesman for North Korea’s foreign ministry as explicitly backing Tehran’s new leadership after the killing of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in a US-Israeli strike on February 28, the opening salvo of a war now in its 12th day.
Meanwhile, Iran’s Assembly of Experts elected Mojtaba Khamenei, son of the late supreme leader, as his successor.
Read also | US-Iran War News LIVE: Trump Says US Hits Iranian Mine Boats
“Regarding the recent official announcement that Iran’s Assembly of Experts has elected a new leader of the Islamic Revolution, we respect the right and choice of the Iranian people to choose their supreme leader,” KCNA quoted a ministry spokesman as saying.
Which countries welcomed Mojtaba Khamenei as the new supreme leader of Iran?
Global reactions split sharply along geopolitical lines. Oman’s Sultan Haitham bin Tariq Al Said sent formal congratulations, quickly followed by Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, who expressed confidence in the new leadership’s ability to navigate “this sensitive phase”.
Russian President Vladimir Putin pledged “unwavering support” to Tehran and called Russia a “reliable partner” of Iran. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Kuo Jiakun said the appointment was “based on its constitution” and warned against interfering in Iran’s internal affairs.
Yemen’s Houthi movement hailed the appointment as “a new victory for the Islamic revolution and a decisive blow to the enemies of the Islamic Republic.” North Korea, separately, has also extended its support.
On the flip side, Trump dismissed Mojtaba Khamenei as a “lightweight,” told CBS News he had “no message” for him, and claimed he had his own candidate in mind to lead Iran.
Read also | Iran Threatens Donald Trump With Death: ‘Take Care’
Israel’s foreign ministry called the new leader “another tyrant” and wrote: “Mojtaba Khamenei’s hands are already stained with the bloodshed that defined his father’s rule.” Al Jazeera The Israeli army has already threatened to kill him.
Pyongyang condemns the US-Israeli attacks on Iran as an “illegal” attack
North Korea’s condemnation of the war escalated sharply on Wednesday, with Pyongyang framing the conflict in explicitly geopolitical terms.
“We express serious concern and strongly condemn the aggression of the United States and Israel, which, by launching an illegal military attack against Iran, are undermining the foundations of regional peace and security and increasing instability on the international stage,” the spokesman said.
The statement went further, condemning the attacks for undermining “the country’s political system and territorial integrity” – behavior which the spokesman said “must be condemned and rejected by the whole world”.
It marks a significant hardening of Pyongyang’s position since it first described the US-Israeli campaign as “gangster behavior” immediately after the war began 12 days ago.
Kim Jong-un oversees a strategic test of guided missiles from Pyongyang’s largest warship
At the same time, KCNA announced that Kim Jong Un personally supervised the test firing of strategic cruise missiles from the Choe Hyon – North Korea’s newest and largest naval destroyer.
It was the second missile test from a vessel conducted under Kim’s direct supervision after a launch last week in which he praised his country’s progress in “arming the navy with nuclear weapons.”
Read also | As the Iran war pushes oil prices higher, Putin can hardly hide his smirk
During Wednesday’s test, Kim spoke of the critical strategic importance of “maintaining and expanding a strong and reliable deterrent against nuclear war” — language that comes amid a live conflict involving North Korea’s allies and carries considerable weight.
What does North Korea’s nuclear stance mean for the Iran-US war?
The timing of the missile test, along with Pyongyang’s political support for Tehran, is unlikely to be coincidental.
The United States has tried for decades to dismantle North Korea’s nuclear program with little measurable success. Pyongyang has consistently argued that its nuclear arsenal is necessary to deter any threat of invasion by South Korea and its Washington-backed allies.
The Trump administration has signaled in recent months a willingness to revive high-level dialogue with North Korea, and Kim himself has suggested they could “get along” — provided Washington accepts Pyongyang’s status as a nuclear power. Whether this diplomatic opening survives North Korea’s open alliance with Iran against the United States remains to be seen.
