Australia supports US attacks on Iran, North Korea strongly denounces

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has expressed support for the US strike on Iran and called for de-escalation and a return to diplomacy. However, North Korea has strongly denounced US strikes on Iran.

“The world has long agreed that Iran cannot be allowed to get a nuclear weapon, and we support action to prevent that,” Albanese told reporters in Canberra.

He said that “the information has been clear” that Iran had enriched uranium to 60 percent, and “there is no other explanation for it to reach 60, other than engaging in a programme that wasn’t about civilian nuclear power”.

“Had Iran complied with the very reasonable requests that were made, including by the IAEA, then circumstances would have been different,” Albanese added, referring to limitations on enrichment.

Iran insists its nuclear programme is solely for civilian purposes, and the UN’s International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has also rejected Israeli claims that Iran was on the verge of making nuclear weapons.

Meanwhile, North Korea has strongly denounced US strikes on Iran.

A spokesperson for North Korea’s Foreign Ministry said the attacks violate the UN Charter and blamed the tensions on Israel’s “ceaseless war moves and territorial expansion”, which are “accepted and encouraged by the West”.

The official said North Korea “strongly denounces the attack on Iran by the US which … violently trampled down the territorial integrity and security interests of a sovereign state”.

They also called on the international community to “raise the voice of unanimous censure and rejection against the US and Israel’s confrontational acts”.

Iran and North Korea have maintained warm ties and have been suspected of cooperating in developing military technology.

(With inputs from Al Jazeera)