Iranian ambassador warns of Korean security vacuum if U.S. redirects assets to Middle East

Iranian Ambassador to South Korea Saeed Koozechi speaks during an exclusive interview with the Korea JoongAng Daily at the Iranian Embassy in central Seoul on March 13. Behind him hangs a portrait of the late Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, alongside a map of Iran inscribed with the words "Eternal Iran" in Persian — a backdrop arranged at the ambassador's request. [PARK SANG-MOON]

[INTERVIEW]
 
Iran’s top diplomat to Seoul warned that any redeployment of U.S. strategic assets from South Korea to the Middle East would leave a security gap on the peninsula — while defending Tehran's nuclear program as strictly peaceful and dismissing allegations of military cooperation with Pyongyang.
 
"The U.S. forces and various military systems stationed in Korea are considered a crucial part of South Korea's defense capabilities," Ambassador Saeed Koozechi said through an interpreter in an exclusive two-hour interview with the Korea JoongAng Daily at the Iranian Embassy in central Seoul on Friday, nearly two weeks after the United States and Israel launched airstrikes on his country.
 
"Therefore, if some of this equipment and capability were to be relocated to the Middle East, it could be perceived as a vacuum to some degree or a weakening of Korea's defense capabilities. In this respect, the concerns being raised can be considered reasonable worries that are fully understandable from the perspectives of many military and security experts."
 

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However, he noted that he did not see U.S. bases in Korea as "directly participating in military attacks against Iran" at this stage.
 
Koozechi held his first press conference on the situation one week ago, but this marks his first one-on-one media interview since the initial attacks, which killed former Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and, according to Tehran, hit civilian infrastructure including an elementary school, prompting Iran to retaliate.
 
What Tehran asks of Seoul, Koozechi stressed, is for South Korea to ensure that those assets are not turned against Iran.
 

Empty Patriot missile launchers situated at Osan Air Base in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi, on March 11. Reports indicate the United States has transferred six Terminal High Altitude Area Defense launchers from Seongju, North Gyeongsang, to the Middle East, following an earlier redeployment of PAC-3 Patriot interceptors. [NEWS1]

 
"We expect the South Korean government to ensure that its own facilities and capabilities are not used for the continuation of this attack or the expansion of such military adventures," he said.
 
Koozechi expressed little confidence that Washington would heed Seoul's objections. President Lee Jae Myung said Wednesday his government has expressed opposition to the relocation of some U.S. air-defense weapons, but acknowledged that Seoul cannot actually stop or fully “impose” its position on the U.S. military.
 
"As far as I know, the Korean government has also expressed dissatisfaction and concern regarding this issue," Koozechi said. "However, the U.S. side does not seem to have shown sufficient interest in this position."
 
"The initial calculations at the time this military adventure began appear to differ significantly from how the actual situation has unfolded over the past two weeks," he continued. "As a result, rather than helping to resolve the crisis, this trend is imposing a burden and damage even on the friends and allies of the United States, and consequently resulting in them becoming involved in this situation to some extent."
 
The conflict has already rattled global energy markets.
 

Cars line up at a gas station in Seocho District, southern Seoul, on March 13. The South Korean government implements a temporary fuel price cap system the same day for the first time in nearly 30 years to help ease cost burdens amid supply concerns over the ongoing Middle East crisis. [NEWS1]

 
The South Korean government announced a cap on the price of oil at midnight Friday, setting maximum supply prices at 1,724 won per liter ($4.40 per gallon) for gasoline and 1,713 won for diesel, to be reviewed every two weeks depending on conditions in the Middle East.
 
At one point during the interview, a voice cut through from the street outside, amplified through a megaphone, demanding that Tehran "lift the blockade" of the vital Strait of Hormuz.
 
Iran's new supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, ordered the oil shipping lane through the Strait to remain closed on Thursday.
 
While Koozechi acknowledged that the turmoil had "sent great shock waves" across the global energy market, he pushed back on characterizations of Tehran's posture in the Strait of Hormuz — a vital artery for South Korea's crude oil imports — as a blockade.
 
"Control and monitoring," he said, was the appropriate description. He attributed the maritime paralysis — marked by soaring insurance premiums and vessels rerouting away from the strait — to U.S. and Israeli "adventurism."
 
As for the safety of South Korean vessels, Koozechi said his embassy had not yet received guidelines on protective measures.
 

U.S. President Donald Trump, right, shakes hands with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during a news conference at Mar-a-Lago, Florida, Dec. 29, 2025. [AP/YONHAP]

 
Addressing claims raised by the Israeli ambassador to Seoul — who has argued that the strikes on Iran were the result of a lesson learned from the international community's failure to halt North Korea's nuclear program — Koozechi insisted that Tehran's atomic activities serve purely civilian purposes.
 
"This program is for various civilian purposes such as power generation, application in the agricultural sector and the production of radiopharmaceuticals," he said. "Currently, there are over 1 million cancer patients in Iran, and many of them require radiopharmaceuticals for treatment. The Atomic Energy Organization of Iran continuously produces these medicines and supplies them to domestic medical institutions."
 
Despite acknowledging that Iran "maintains friendly relations" with North Korea, he dismissed reports of missile cooperation, attributing them to a coordinated influence campaign by Israel.
 
Koozechi characterized the current U.S. administration's priorities: "First Israel, not America, not allies."
 
The ambassador called the strikes an act of "state terrorism" — a position he had briefly walked back in his press conference one week ago.
 
"I think it is difficult to describe these acts other than as state terrorism," he said, referencing the killing of the country's supreme leader and the strike on a girls' elementary school. "Even in a war, it is usually normal for residences, families and the private spaces of political leaders to be respected."
 
He further suggested the military campaign was designed to distract the American public from President Donald Trump's domestic legal vulnerabilities, specifically citing the Jeffrey Epstein files.
 
"Some analysts argue that calling it 'Operation Epstein Fury' better explains the political motivations behind this action," he said.
 
"Donald Trump has essentially handed over the capabilities, resources and assets of the American people to be used by the Israeli government," Koozechi continued. "Nevertheless, he has yet to provide a convincing explanation to the American people as to why he has embarked on such a military adventure."
 
Outside of the embassy, a large banner read: "When will the world hold war criminals accountable?" — displayed alongside an image of the late Supreme Leader Khamenei and photographs of students killed in strikes across Iran, which has prompted some local critics to argue that a diplomatic mission is being served as a platform for political advocacy.
 

On the Iranian Embassy's outer wall hangs a large banner featuring a photograph of the late Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei — killed in U.S.-Israeli strikes — and the words: "When will the world hold war criminals accountable?" captured by the Korea JoongAng Daily on March 13. According to police officers on site, protests have become a frequent occurrence at the embassy in central Seoul. [SEO JI-EUN]

 
Koozechi defended the banner as a "small light against the darkness" of misinformation and questioned the intensity of the backlash.
 
"Behind the spread of these distorted claims lie some giant media outlets run by forces with enormous capital, and they seek to shape public opinion in the way they desire," he said regarding the banner. "Many Korean media outlets are also influenced to some extent by the flow and narrative of Western media reporting."
 
"In some countries, the diplomatic missions of the Islamic Republic of Iran have held exhibitions displaying photos and materials to increase public understanding of these events," he added. "One of the important roles of an embassy is to convey facts to the citizens of the host country. In other words, part of that role is to share how civilians in Iran are being exposed to threats and attacks."
 

A man watches a televised statement by Iran's new supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei on March 12. Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, who was reportedly injured in an air strike, has yet to appear publicly since his nomination as supreme leader, and his defiant message was read by a newscaster on state television. [AFP/YONHAP]

 
Addressing who in Iran holds the actual authority to end this war, Koozechi answered that it is "the new leader" who was recently elected in Iran's Assembly of Experts, referring to Mojtaba Khamenei.
 
The ambassador, however, stopped short of articulating any concrete conditions under which Tehran would consider the conflict resolved.

BY SEO JI-EUN [seo.jieun1@joongang.co.kr]