Asked what the deal means for New Zealand's relations and trade with Iran the council's chairman Stewart Germann said:
"The NZMEBC is cautiously optimistic about the future prospects for an Iran-New Zealand trade relationship but we are always cognisant of the policy positions of the New Zealand Government in respect of trade sanctions and we will continue to seek their guidance on behalf of our members."
New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade has yet to respond to Herald queries.
Germann said many of the council's member companies - which include Fonterra and Tegel Foods - are well established in the Middle East and regard Iran as "a significant market for potential business development"
"The six countries of the [Persian] Gulf together are now New Zealand's fifth biggest trading partner - bigger than the United Kingdom - so we are well placed to take advantage of any new markets that can be developed from our strong foothold in the region.
New Zealand exported around $163 million of commodities to Iran last year.
The vast bulk of this was dairy and animal products, which accounted for almost $147 million of what was exported.
The next largest category is wool or animal hair at $7.1 million and behind that fish products at $6.7 million.
The $163 million of exports is slim when compared to New Zealand's other trading partners.
Around $916 million worth of goods were exported to the United Arab Emirates in 2014 and around $754 million to Saudi Arabia.
Trade Minister Tim Groser is travelling in Europe and could not be reached for comment.
However, New Zealand's foreign minister welcomed the Iran nuclear deal.
Murray McCully said today the nuclear deal between Iran and six major powers was an "important" breakthrough.
"Over the last eighteen months negotiators have been working to secure an agreement that will increase international confidence in the nature of Iran's nuclear programme," McCully said.
"This agreement is a positive development for regional stability in the Middle East and will allow for further progress to be made in the relationship between New Zealand and Iran.
"As the current president of the United Nations Security Council, New Zealand will do what it can to expedite any necessary Security Council action, and we call for the agreement to be implemented as soon as possible," he added.
Geopolitical analyst Dr Paul G. Buchanan said the deal with Iran would offer plenty of economic opportunities for Kiwi businesses keen to trade with Iran, a country of about 79 million people.
He said New Zealand already had few reservations about doing business with countries that had questionable human rights records.
"We will trade with security enemies of the West if we can think it can get us a little further down the road," he said.
"We can use the good graces of our commitment to non-proliferation and say this is our way of rewarding the Iranians...for their co-operation on this matter."
Dr Buchanan said he did not accept claims the deal suddenly made the world, or New Zealand, a safer place, even though Iran would be expected to also stop supporting terrorist groups such as Hamas and Hezbollah.
However, he expected the New Zealand public to support the deal, given this country's traditional opposition to nuclear weapons.
Dr Buchanan said New Zealand's diplomatic corps did not share the public's ongoing support for non-proliferation.
He said the corps had been "purged" of older employees with strong non-proliferation views, with younger and more cheaply paid "trade zealots" taking their place.
He said our diplomats were consequently of little interest to people hammering out high-profile international arms or security negotiations.
Dr Buchanan said the deal seemed "fair enough" with concessions on both sides but America's internal political dynamics could complicate the deal's implementation.
Many senators and people in Congress, even "conservative" Democrats, were opposed to the deal but President Obama said he would veto any attempts from legislators to shoot down the agreement.
Hillary Clinton was most likely to win the next presidential election, Dr Buchanan said, and the deal's future could depend on whether she decided to honour Mr Obama's deal despite more domestic opposition expected.
Dr Buchanan said Iran and the US were "de facto" allies in the fight against the so-called Islamic State.
He said Iran's often noxious and "crazy" rhetoric existed to placate a conservative domestic audience, and was at times no more an indicator of the Islamic Republic's worl dview than Donald Trump's comments were of America's.
A senior US official told Agence France-Presse a resolution following the deal could be introduced at the United Nations as soon as next week.
But New Zealand's UN envoy Gerard van Bohemen, who held the rotating presidency at the Security Council, said no date for a vote had been set.
"Of course, the Council will stand ready to act when we know what the game plan is," he told AFP.
See table below detailing volume of exports to Iran (by dollar) here:
- additional reporting: Associated Press and NZME.
