The United States and Israel are escalating attacks on Iran, which has launched counterattacks on neighbouring Gulf states.
New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has been in hot water this week for his response to the conflict in the Middle East.
On Tuesday, Greens co-leader Chlöe Swarbrick asked Luxon if the Government would automatically extend visas for people impacted by the war in Iran.
Luxon suggested it would, but returned to the House that evening to walk back the answer. It’s the second time this week he’s corrected a statement.
He has also admitted he misspoke on Monday when he said the Government supports “any action” to prevent Iran obtaining a nuclear weapon and that it is “a good thing”.
He has so far ruled out New Zealand boots on the ground, though.
Otago international relations professor Robert Patman told The Front Page that this Government does seem to be “deeply pragmatic”.
“The question for New Zealanders is, we often think of ourselves as a brave little country that, in Luxon’s words, is prepared to stand up and speak up for its values and interests internationally. Are we doing that on this occasion, and will it have consequences?
“We need rules in place. We’re not big enough to make our own rules or throw our weight around.
“The danger is that by being muted and not having moral and legal clarity in this situation, where a number of people are dying on a daily basis, we contribute to the erosion of an international rules-based order in which this country depends,” he said.
The Government has consistently condemned Iran’s nuclear programme, its retaliatory attacks, and the treatment of its citizens.
It has called for the “resumption and adherence to international law”.
It has not commented on the legality of the military strikes, with Luxon stating that New Zealand can’t make an assumption, given it hasn’t seen the intelligence gathered by Israel or the US.
A leader who hasn’t shied from criticism is Spain’s Pedro Sanchez, who has been quick to mark the move a defiance of international law-based order.
US President Donald Trump has ordered the cutting of all trade with Spain after it refused access to its military bases at Rota and Moron.
“Sanchez takes international law very seriously, and he’s one of the few European leaders who’s actually consistent on Ukraine, the situation in Gaza, and now Iran,” Patman said.
“I don’t think he had any particular affection for the regime in Iran, but he takes a view that international law matters.”
The push-and-pull on European leaders has been in the spotlight, with Trump publicly chastising UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer for his refusal to offer a British base for the initial wave of strikes.
While in the Oval Office, meeting with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Trump offered that he is “not happy with the UK”.
“This is not Winston Churchill that we’re dealing with,” he said in reference to Starmer.
Patman told The Front Page that it may be because Churchill has always been considered a very good wartime leader.
“I’m surprised that Trump made a comparison between Starmer and Churchill, because Churchill energetically opposed appeasement policies towards Hitler, and he was eventually proven right.
“Churchill spent most of the 1930s railing in frustration that the Government of the day, led by Neville Chamberlain, was trying to appease Hitler.
“He was a robust, no-nonsense sort of character. Starmer is a smooth operator, and I suppose the reference that Trump made was that Churchill is widely regarded in the United States as a great wartime leader, and he cemented the relationship with the US.
“Churchill was frustrated the Americans didn’t enter the war till two years after it began ... It seemed to me that those historical parallels are often inaccurate,” he said.
On Starmer’s unwillingness to bend the knee, Patman said that it’s clear the British leader had reflected upon experience.
“Of the previous Labour Government and the problems it went through in backing the US’ illegal invasion of Iraq in 2003.
“I think the other thing here is, there’s no doubt about it, there’s been a certain coolness in relations between the Trump Administration and the UK recently.
“Starmer initially took the view that being constructive or flattering would moderate the President’s policies and make him a more co-operative partner. But I think, after more than a year in office, Starmer has concluded that he can’t simply do everything that Trump wants,” he said.
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The Front Page is a daily news podcast from the New Zealand Herald, available to listen to every weekday from 5pm. The podcast is presented by Chelsea Daniels, an Auckland-based journalist with a background in world news and crime/justice reporting, who joined NZME in 2016.
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