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Rebuilding Korea Party slams killing of Iran leader, calls U.S., Israel attacks 'terrorism'

Published: 01 Mar. 2026, 15:27 Updated: 01 Mar. 2026, 15:34

The Rebuilding Korea Party's name is seen at the National Assembly building in Yeouido, western Seoul, during a press conference held by the party's founder Cho Kuk on Feb. 8. [NEWS1]

The minor Rebuilding Korea Party on Sunday denounced the killing of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in U.S. and Israeli airstrikes as “clear state terrorism,” urging Washington to halt military action and return to diplomacy.

“A leader of a sovereign state has been killed on his own soil by foreign forces,” party spokesperson Han Ga-seon said in a statement, condemning what she called a “blatant violation of the UN Charter by the United States.”

Han said the incident underlined the danger of powerful states imposing their will on others.

“The moment the logic that a great power can remove another country’s regime and leader at will is tolerated, the world will return to a jungle ruled not by law but by force,” she said, adding that disregarding diplomatic channels in favor of military might would deepen global turmoil and a cycle of retaliation.

"‘Peace through strength’ is merely rhetoric that justifies the violence of the powerful,” she said.

The liberal party urged the United States to "abandon military action and revert to international law and diplomacy."

“Order imposed by force is not peace but the beginning of another war,” Han said.

Iranian state media confirmed on Sunday that Khamenei, 86, was killed in joint airstrikes by U.S. and Israeli forces, a dramatic escalation that has unsettled the Middle East and triggered reprisals. The strikes also targeted other senior Iranian officials, and Tehran has responded with missile and drone attacks across the region.

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY KIM EUN-BIN [[email protected]]