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North Korea has announced its support for Iran’s appointment of Mojtaba Khamenei as the country’s supreme leader and again denounced the “illegal” attack by the United States and Israel on Iran, state media reports.

The state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on Wednesday quoted a spokesperson from North Korea’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs as saying that Pyongyang respected the choice of Iran to select Mojtaba Khamenei as supreme leader, the son of late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in a US-Israeli attack at the start of the war on 28 February.

“Regarding the recent official announcement that the Iranian Assembly of Experts has elected a new leader of the Islamic Revolution, we respect the right and choice of the Iranian people to elect their Supreme Leader,” KCNA quoted the ministry spokesperson as saying.

“We express grave concern and strongly condemn the aggression of the United States and Israel, which, by launching an unlawful military attack against Iran, are undermining the foundations of regional peace and security and increasing instability in the international landscape,” the spokesperson said.

The spokesperson also condemned the attacks for undermining “the political system and territorial integrity of a country”, which is unacceptable and “must be condemned and rejected by the entire world”.

Following the launch of the US-Israel war on Iran 12 days ago, North Korea condemned what it branded “gangster-like conduct” in the Middle East.

KCNA also reported on Wednesday that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un had overseen another test-firing of strategic cruise missiles from the country’s latest and largest naval destroyer, Choe Hyon.

Kim spoke during the event about the important strategic task of “maintaining and expanding a powerful and reliable nuclear war deterrent”, according to KCNA.

The launch of the missile from the Choe Hyon was the second missile test from the destroyer overseen by Kim, who last week lauded his country “arming the Navy with nuclear weapons”.

The US has for decades led efforts to dismantle North Korea’s nuclear programme, but has had little influence on Pyongyang, which has asserted that such weapons are required to prevent any threat of invasion by South Korea and its allies in Washington.

Qatar’s minister of state for foreign affairs, Mohammed bin Abdulaziz Al Khulaifi, speaks with Talk to Al Jazeera, as the Gulf faces its most dangerous escalation in years after coming under Iranian drone and missile attacks.

Al Khulaifi condemns Iran’s aggression, warns that attacks on energy infrastructure threaten global markets, and argues that Gulf security is inseparable from global stability.

Australia ⁠has confirmed that two more members of the Iranian women’s football team have received humanitarian visas, after five players were earlier ‌granted asylum over concerns for their safety should they return to Iran, following the team failing to sing their national anthem before a recent match.

A player and a member of the team’s support staff decided ⁠to stay ⁠in Australia after seeking asylum, Minister for Home Affairs Tony Burke told reporters on Wednesday.

The pair has now joined five other team members granted humanitarian visas on Tuesday, Burke told reporters.

He said the pair sought asylum before the team departed the country late on Tuesday night, adding that all the women were taken aside individually by Australian officials and interpreters, without Iranian minders present, and offered asylum as they passed through security at Sydney airport.

“They were given a choice,” said Burke, who later posted images of the players on social media.

“In that situation, what we made sure of was that there was no rushing, there was no pressure,” he said.

Burke also said that some people linked to the team were not offered asylum, without providing details. One member of the delegation delayed boarding the departing flight from Sydney while they contacted family members and deliberated about staying in Australia, Burke said.

“We weren’t sure which way that person would go,” he said. “That individual ultimately made their own decision.”

The seven team members who had requested asylum have received temporary humanitarian visas, which is a pathway to permanent residency in Australia, Burke said.

According to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC), the visas offered to the team members are valid for 12 months and are similar to those granted to applicants from Ukraine, Palestine and Afghanistan.

The team’s departure from their hotel in Australia’s Gold Coast and arrival at the domestic airport in Sydney before their international departure took place amid protests, as Iranian Australians sought to prevent the women from leaving the country, citing fears for their safety in Iran.

‘Iran awaits you with open arms’

Concerns about the players’ safety emerged after Iranian state television labelled the team “traitors” for refusing to sing the ⁠national anthem before their first Asia Cup match in Australia. The team later sang the anthem at other matches.

However, the office of ‌Iran’s ‌general prosecutor said on Tuesday that the remaining members of the team were invited home “with peace and confidence”, Iranian media reported.

“These loved ones are invited to return to their homeland with peace and confidence, and in addition to addressing the concerns of their families,” the general prosecutor’s office was quoted as saying by Iran’s Tasnim news agency.

Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson, Esmaeil Baghaei, also urged the players to “come home”.

“To Iran’s women’s football team: don’t worry – Iran awaits you with open arms,” Baghaei wrote on X on Tuesday.

The Iranian team joined the Women’s Asian Cup tournament in Australia just as the US and ⁠Israel launched their war on Iran, killing the country’s ⁠supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and many senior officials.

At least 1,255 people have been killed in the US-Israeli war on Iran, which has entered its 11th day and has seen devastating air strikes on the capital, Tehran, and other cities, as well as key infrastructure and civilian sites.

The high-profile offer of asylum to the football players also comes as the Australian government moved to introduce legislation to ban people from certain countries travelling to Australia who authorities fear might overstay their visa due to the war in the Middle East.

According to the ABC, the proposed law would allow the government to stop people from nominated countries entering Australia for up to six months, even if they already have a valid temporary visa.

The Australian Greens party said on Tuesday the law was “clearly aimed at preventing people from Iran from seeking safety in Australia”.

“We know who this is aimed at by Labor, it’s aimed at the people of Iran, the people of Lebanon, the people of Qatar and the entire Middle East. It is clearly designed to be a Trump-like mass visa freeze,” said Greens Senator David Shoebridge.

Kon Karapanagiotidis, chief executive of the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre, said the Australian government was acting hypocritically.