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Israeli envoy says Iran conflict won’t be ‘endless’ as concerns mount in Korea over oil prices

Published: 13 Mar. 2026, 15:00

MICHAEL LEE
[email protected]

Israeli Ambassador Rafael Harpaz speaks to the Korea JoongAng Daily during an interview in Jongno District, central Seoul, on March 11. [PARK SANG-MOON]

Israeli Ambassador to South Korea Rafael Harpaz told the Korea JoongAng Daily on Wednesday that current hostilities between his country and Iran will not be “endless,” seeking to ease mounting concerns in Seoul that the fighting could trigger a longer-term spike in global oil prices.

The ongoing conflict over Tehran’s nuclear program, which began with U.S. and Israeli airstrikes on Iran on Feb. 28, has heightened anxiety about energy supplies, particularly in Asia, which relies heavily on oil and gas imports from the Middle East shipped through the Strait of Hormuz. Iran has said it will not allow oil or gas bound for the United States, Israel or their allies to pass through the strait.

Multiple international news outlets reported Saturday that Israel had targeted Iranian fuel depots in strikes, raising fears of further disruptions to energy supplies. Harpaz, however, said the facilities hit were “used for terrorism” and accused Iran of intentionally “attacking oil and gas infrastructure across the region” in an attempt to send oil prices soaring.

He added that the economic disruption now being felt in South Korea and around the world because of fluctuations in oil prices would likely prove temporary.

“It will not be an endless war,” he said.

An oil tanker sits anchored in Muscat, Oman, due to Tehran's threat to close the Strait of Hormuz amid the U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran on March 7. [REUTERS/YONHAP]

The conflict has drawn particular attention in Seoul, where President Lee Jae Myung said his government expressed “opposing views” to Washington over the potential redeployment of U.S. air defense systems from the Korean Peninsula to the Middle East.

South Korea hosts about 28,500 American troops and an array of advanced U.S. missile defense systems, including Patriot batteries and Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (Thaad) interceptors designed to counter North Korea’s expanding missile arsenal, including its nuclear weapons.

Asked whether diverting U.S. assets was justified when Iran does not yet possess nuclear weapons, Harpaz declined to address the issue directly, calling it a matter “between South Korea and the United States.”

However, he pointed to the Korean Peninsula’s experience with nuclear proliferation when rationalizing Israel’s decision to strike Iran before its program reaches a “point of no return.”

“South Koreans understand better than anyone that once a country acquires nuclear weapons, it’s a completely different ballgame,” he said.

He further argued that Iran’s uranium enrichment levels signal the potential for military use.

Israeli security forces inspect an apartment building in Tel Aviv, Israel, after it was struck by an Iranian missile on March 8. [AP/YONHAP]

“You don’t enrich uranium to 60 percent for civilian purposes. There is no other use,” Harpaz said. He said that if Israel “had waited longer, Iran would very quickly have become a nuclear-armed country.” He also noted that Iran has vowed to “destroy Israel” on multiple occasions.

Civilian nuclear reactors typically operate on fuel enriched to around 3 to 5 percent, far below the level Iran has produced. Weapons-grade uranium is typically enriched to 90 percent or higher.

Still, the campaign has raised questions about whether Israel’s justification meets the legal standard for a preemptive strike, which typically requires evidence of an imminent attack by a hostile party.

Harpaz defended the operation by citing Israeli intelligence assessments that Iran was nearing “immunity” from future attacks on its missile production and nuclear programs.

“The Iranians were planning to continue the nuclear program deep underground, where it would gain immunity to even the largest U.S. bombers,” he said, arguing such facilities would effectively be impervious to the type of strikes that destroyed nuclear facilities in Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan in June.

“If we waited one more year, we would not have been able to destroy these underground facilities,” he added.

The issue of nuclear proliferation carries particular weight in South Korea, where policymakers have long debated whether different actions in the past might have prevented North Korea from developing nuclear weapons. Pyongyang conducted its first nuclear test in 2006, more than a decade after negotiations over its program began.

Smoke rises into the sky following an airstrike on Tehran on March 4. [UPI/YONHAP]

While declining to comment on what decisions Seoul and Washington should have taken when Pyongyang’s nuclear program first came to light in the 1990s, Harpaz noted that North Korea today “has 50 to 60 nuclear weapons” and warned that “Iran will also become nuclear” if Israel were to “do nothing.”

He said the comparison between Pyongyang and Tehran was reinforced by evidence of their past cooperation, referring to discoveries of North Korean arms in Gaza, which is controlled by Hamas, a group that has received support from Iran.

One key difference between South Korea and Israel, however, is that Seoul relies on Washington’s nuclear umbrella.

When asked whether Israel would accept inspections by the International Atomic Energy Agency, Harpaz reiterated Israel’s longstanding policy of deliberate ambiguity, saying Israel “would not be the first to introduce nuclear weapons” in the Middle East without elaborating on the meaning of “introduce.”

He also declined to weigh in on another sensitive debate in South Korea over whether Seoul should consider developing its own independent nuclear weapons system.

“I will not tell South Korea what it should or should not do,” he said.

Harpaz further declined to speculate whether the campaign against Iran might reinforce the determination of states such as North Korea to retain their nuclear arsenals.

“What countries should learn from this, you should ask them,” he said.

Harpaz also denied that Israeli pressure pushed the U.S. to join the initial airstrikes against Iran. However, Harpaz characterized the joint Israeli and U.S. operation as the “most significant” in decades to target Tehran’s nuclear, missile and proxy capabilities.

Asked what Israel would do if the conflict does not result in regime change in Iran, Harpaz said the operation would conclude when Iran “no longer poses a threat.”

However, he also said his country hopes the ongoing operation will ultimately create conditions for political change in Tehran.

“We hope that what this operation creates will enable the Iranian people to take their destiny into their own hands,” he said, noting that Israel “is not fighting the Iranian people,” but rather “an extremist regime that massacres its own citizens,” referring to Tehran’s violent suppression of domestic protests earlier this year.

Harpaz said Israeli officials “have constant engagement with the Korean government about the situation on the ground” and have coordinated with Seoul regarding the safety of South Korean nationals living in Israel.

He noted that there are approximately 600 Koreans in Israel and that his government “gave assistance to those who wanted to leave,” which he estimated to be about 10 percent of the resident population.

BY MICHAEL LEE [[email protected]]