Seoul [South Korea], June 19 : North Korea on Thursday condemned Israel's recent air strike on Iran as a "hideous act of aggression" and warned that it risks triggering a broader war in West Asia.
In a statement carried by state-run news agency KCNA as cited by Yonhap outlet, North Korea said Israel, backed by the United States and the West, is a "cancer-like" entity in threatening peace in West Asia.
The conflict between Israel and Iran entered its seventh day today.
A spokesperson at North Korea's foreign ministry voiced "serious" concerns about Israel's military attack against Iran on Friday, denouncing Israel for raising the danger of a fresh all-out war in West Asia, KCNA stated.
The spokesperson said that Israel's attack on Iran violates the sovereignty and territorial integrity of a sovereign state and is an "unpardonable crime against humanity."
"The present grave situation witnessed by the world clearly proves that Israel, supported and patronised by the US and the West, is a cancer-like entity for peace in the Middle East and a chief culprit of destroying global peace and security," the Foreign Ministry spokesperson said.
Having established diplomatic ties in 1973, North Korea and Iran are known to have close ties while under international sanctions for their weapons programs. Pyongyang and Tehran have also provided weapons to Russia to support its war against Ukraine, Yonhap reported.
North Korea's comments come amid remarks by US President Donald Trump, who stated that his "patience has already run out" with Tehran.
Trump held a Situation Room meeting Wednesday afternoon to discuss US options. Trump indicated he has not yet made a final decision on whether the US would get involved.
Israel's Air Force on Thursday said it targeted Iran's missile manufacturing capabilities and is currently conducting "a series of strikes" in Tehran and other areas of Iran, the Israel Defence Forces said.
Earlier, Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said air defence systems had been activated over Tehran. CNN reported that Israeli strikes have hit military sites and infrastructure in Tehran, as well as residential buildings - causing many residents to flee the city.
Tehran's actions are purely in self-defence, but the country "remains committed to diplomacy," Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said. "If the Americans decide to get involved militarily, we have no choice but to retaliate wherever we find the targets necessary to be acted upon," Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Majid Takht Ravanchi told CNN. "That is clear and simple. Because we are acting in self-defence," he said.
Iran has said it fired Sejjil-2 solid-fueled medium-range ballistic missiles toward Israel, Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said in a statement. Tehran imposed nationwide temporary restrictions on internet access across the country.
Iran has been developing its nuclear infrastructure since the 1960s, often in secret, with some facilities buried underground. It is capable of most stages of uranium production from mining to enrichment. Tehran, however, has insists its program is peaceful, CNN reported.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has in a televised statement on Wednesday, thanked US President Trump for his "support in defending Israel's skies."
He added that Israel was striking Iran with "tremendous power", while acknowledging that Israel had suffered "painful losses" in the war. "We are striking the ayatollahs' regime with tremendous power," he said. "We are hitting their nuclear programme, their missiles, their military headquarters, the symbols of their power."
Meanwhile, US President Trump on Wednesday told reporters that he has not made up his mind about whether to launch an airstrike on an Iranian nuclear facility.
"I may do it, I may not do it," Trump told reporters at the White House on Wednesday. "I mean, nobody knows what I'm going to do."
"Nothing's too late," Trump said. "I can tell you this. Iran's got a lot of trouble." "Nothing is finished until it is finished," Trump added. But "the next week is going to be very big-- maybe less than a week."
Trump said that Iran wants to restart negotiations after being battered by Israeli airstrikes, which Iran has denied. The US President said he will not allow Iran to develop a nuclear weapon.