Kiwis told to leave Iran and Israel amid conflict
Kiwis in Iran and Israel are being advised to leave as soon as it is safe to do so, as both countries promise new waves of attacks. On Friday, Israel attacked Iran by targeting nuclear sites, but since then the two countries have more traded devastating attacks, some directed at residential areas. Dozens have been killed and hundreds are injured or missing, according to reports from each side, with many of those hurt civilians. In New Zealand, people with family in both countries are watching on nervously. Rachel Graham reports.
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How Would An Escalation In Conflict In The Middle East Impact New Zealand
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As a small country that is thousands of miles away from the conflict, all New Zealand could do was to advocate for what it thought should happen, he said. "What we don't need is more military action, we need a political solution to all of these issues in the Middle East." On Sunday, Foreign Minister Winston Peters said ongoing military action in the Middle East was "extremely worrying". Peters previously said before the weekend escalation that the provocative behaviour by both Israel and Iran was to be criticised, and New Zealand would not take sides in a conflict of this nature. "There are no innocent parties in this conflict," he said. Will this latest Middle East conflict affect the price of petrol - and everything else? The escalation poses a major threat to New Zealand's economy, RNZ's Susan Edmunds reports. Infometrics chief executive Brad Olsen said if there were attacks on US shipping, or attempts to limit access through the Strait of Hormuz, oil prices could spike. 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There will be a bigger war. It's going to destroy our country and our people are going to die." Salari said she had woken up to messages from her family on Sunday who confirmed they were safe, but she had not been able to get back in contact with them since. Meanwhile, New Zealand Jewish Council spokesperson Ben Kepes said people should not conflate the actions of the Israeli government and the Israeli military with Jews worldwide. Iran has said multiple times that it does not believe Israel has a right to exist, he said. "Most New Zealanders when they understand the issues would say that regardless of whether they support the actions of the Israeli government, that Israel has a right to exist as a sovereign nation." Kepes said he was a Jew in New Zealand and did not hold an Israeli passport, nor vote for the government in Israel. "I have zero control over Israel, so holding me responsible of the actions of the government is not only absurd, but it's a stereotype that is really dangerous." According to the 2023 Census, about 2700 people living in New Zealand are of Israeli or Jewish background, while about 5600 identify with the Iranian ethnic group.


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Local Transport Specialist, James Ebbett, Selected As ACT Local Candidate For Central Hawke's Bay Election
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RNZ News
2 hours ago
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Climate Minister says gas shortage will lower greenhouse emissions
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"In terms of adding up all the small and insignificant countries, it adds up to 40 per cent of global emissions," Watts said. "If we pull out, what signal does that send? There are three countries that are not part of the Paris Agreement, the USA and a number of other countries that most people probably have probably never heard of." [Those countries are Iran, Libya and Yemen . "Russia, China, India, they're all part of the Paris Agreement, and all the other countries we would look to - the only one is the US. "In regards to the implications on international trade, ... New Zealand has a reputation as a primary sector exporter of red meat, dairy and other products," he said. "Why would we put that at risk?"