In the meeting, key security officials assessed the situation in the Middle East and discussed the potential impact on South Korea's security and economy.
Earlier, the U.S. carried out airstrikes on three Iranian nuclear sites including a secret underground uranium enrichment facility located in a remote mountainous area near Tehran, which reportedly can only be penetrated by U.S.' so-called bunker-buster bombs.
Calling the operation a "spectacular military success," U.S. President Donald Trump said in a televised address from the White House, "The U.S. military carried out massive precision strikes on the three key nuclear assemblies in the Iranian regime: Fordo, Natanz and Esfahan."
He added, "Tonight, I can report to the world that the strikes were a spectacular military success. Iran's key nuclear enrichment facilities have been completely and totally obliterated."
Calling Iran "the bully of the Middle East," Trump warned that future U.S. attacks would be "far greater and a lot easier" if Tehran refuses to make peace. "But if peace does not come quickly, we will go after those other targets with precision, speed and skill. Most of them can be taken out in a matter of minutes," he further threatened.
The attack came just two days after he said he would decide whether to strike Iran "in the next two weeks," as he prepared to attend a NATO summit scheduled for this week in The Hague, the Netherlands.
Concerns are growing that U.S. involvement in the ongoing deadly conflict between Iran and Israel could further escalate the crisis in the Middle East.
U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres voiced concerns, calling America's strikes a "dangerous escalation." He said, "I am gravely alarmed by the use of force by the United States against Iran today. This is a dangerous escalation in a region already on the edge – and a direct threat to international peace and security."
"There is a growing risk that this conflict could rapidly get out of control – with catastrophic consequences for civilians, the region, and the world," he added.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs here raised travel warnings for Iran last week and has since been evacuating South Korean nationals via land routes and other means.
reporter
Park Sae-jin
swatchsjp@ajunews.com
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