New Zealand’s Iranian embassy has been temporarily closed just weeks after reopening, as other nations withdraw staff following the end of a ceasefire and the resumption of United States airstrikes.
With reports of Iranian forces detaining foreign diplomats “in flagrant violation of diplomatic immunity”, our foreign ministry has also called on all countries to respect diplomatic rights and privileges.
The Government temporarily closed the Tehran embassy in mid-January amid a deadly regime crackdown on pro-democracy protests. The following month, United States and Israeli forces launched a series of strikes against Iran that killed the country’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, with Iranian forces launching retaliatory strikes against Israel and Gulf states.
In mid-June, US President Donald Trump and Iranian president Masoud Pezeshkian signed a memorandum of understanding designed to bring the war to an end, including the lifting of an American blockade of Iranian ports and the temporary reopening of the Strait of Hormuz to commercial shipping without tolls.
That ceasefire created the conditions for New Zealand diplomats to return: responding to questions from Newsroom, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade on Wednesday confirmed the Tehran embassy had reopened “in recent weeks following careful consideration of a range of factors, including the security situation on the ground and the safety and wellbeing of New Zealand diplomatic staff”.
Yet that return has proved short-lived, after Trump on July 8 declared the agreement was “over” following a series of Iranian attacks on commercial vessels.
The ministry’s website, updated this week to confirm the embassy had reopened, was on Thursday evening updated again with a note saying it had temporarily shut for a second time and directing New Zealanders in need of consular assistance to the nearest embassy in Turkey.
The US has now carried out 12 successive nights of strikes against Iran, while the president on Thursday warned that for every ship attacked in the Strait of Hormuz, American forces “will bomb and destroy ONE BRIDGE OR POWER PLANT, including those located next to, or in, the Capital City of Tehran”.
The UK’s Foreign Office this week announced it had temporarily withdrawn its diplomatic staff from Iran as a precautionary measure, citing the ongoing security situation, while the Government’s official travel advice for New Zealanders has been updated to “strongly advise” against travel to the Middle East.
French diplomats targeted
This week, French foreign minister Jean-Noël Barrot accused Iranian officials of targeting two of the country’s diplomats “in flagrant violation of diplomatic immunity”.
Barrot said the pair had been detained for several hours and interrogated, with one “physically abused” before they were released and returned to the embassy.
The Iranian regime denied mistreating the diplomats, with a spokesperson claiming they had been questioned after meeting individuals under investigation for security reasons. However, media have reported the French government is still considering a reduction in staffing at its embassy following the incident.
Asked about whether the incident involving the French diplomats in Iran had any implications for New Zealand’s security arrangements, the spokesperson said questions related to the case should be directed to the French authorities but added: “New Zealand places importance on all countries respecting diplomatic rights, privileges, and immunities.”
Exactly when the war will end is unclear, but it appears to have already exceeded Foreign Minister Winston Peters’ expectations.
Speaking to Ryan Bridge Today in mid-March, Peters urged observers to “keep our heads on our shoulders, be cool and calm, and wait for the actual facts as they emerge”.
“I think it’ll be over much quicker than people are currently expecting when they are talking about it being going months from now,” he said four months ago.
Speaking to the same show last week, Peters described the latest strikes as “an MoU with breakouts every now and again”, saying it was “anyone’s guess” as to how much longer the conflict would last.
“Iran’s got to ask itself, ‘Well how long can we hold out here?’, because in the end it’s having a profound effect on its neighbourhood, and its neighbourhood is not going to accept Iran making this position any more than the world is.”
