Iranian Arash Alaeinia, who lives in Rotorua, shared his reaction to the ongoing Middle East conflict. Photo / Supplied
The escalating United States–Israel war on Iran has stirred deep anxiety among Iranian New Zealanders, with one Rotorua man fearing for family sheltering under intensifying missile attacks across the Middle East.
Arash Alaeinia told NZME the current conflict was reviving wartime trauma across generations.
US President Donald Trump said the war with Iran could last four to five weeks but had “the capability to go far longer than that”.
Alaeinia, 50, was born in the southwest Iranian town of Abadan, where the Iran-Iraq war began.
His family moved to the United Kingdom in 1974 as refugees, prior to the 1979 revolution.
He said the Islamic Republic was prejudiced against Bahaʼis, his family’s faith.
“Bahaʼis weren’t considered to be legal people,” he said.
The state demanded that all the money his mother had received over most of her working life be repaid.
Pressure also fell on other members of their family, of Jewish faith, still in Iran, who then had to escape.
“If you don’t pay, then there are dire consequences,” Alaeinia said.
Alaeinia eventually found his way to New Zealand, where he met his now ex-wife in Rotorua.
The couple married, moved back to the UK to raise their children, and returned to Rotorua in late 2009.
“I really love Rotorua and everything that it has,” Alaeinia said.
He now works as the chief executive of New Zealand Fish and Game, Eastern Region.
Alaeinia found support among his Iranian friends from Rotorua and Auckland.
The wider community had also supported him, with friends and colleagues checking in to ask how he and his family are doing.
He said his reaction to the conflict dated back to mid-January, when the Iranian people were protesting against living standards and government oppression.
There was a media blackout, and thousands of people were killed directly by the government, he said.
“It’s the people who suffer.”
Alaeinia had been in contact with some cousins in Iran, but hadn’t heard from other family members there.
He said they were stocking up supplies and keeping their heads down.
“My cousins are the same age as me and older, and they’ve been through the Iran-Iraq war, where there were constant bombings and raids.”
The escalating conflict is “bringing those traumas back for them”, but it is a new experience for their children and grandchildren.
He and his Iranian family members were all hoping for the same outcome: “That things pass without more bloodshed”.
“They’re not heading onto the streets to protest, and they’re not heading onto the streets to celebrate. It’s a matter of survival.”
Alaeinia said the US and Israel attack was against the regime, not the Iranian people.
But “it’s the innocent who suffer”.
More than 3000 New Zealanders are registered as being in the Middle East, including 1893 in the UAE, 411 in Qatar and 401 in Saudi Arabia.
Twenty-eight New Zealanders were registered in Iran, and 78 in Israel.
The New Zealand Government would send further consular surge teams to the Middle East and pre-deploy two Defence Force planes for civilian evacuations “when conditions allow”, Foreign Minister Winston Peters said on Thursday.
Australia announced it would also send military assets to help with evacuations.
The UK had sent fighter jets to Qatar and helicopters with anti-drone capabilities to Cyprus.
Commercial flights were becoming available for those seeking to leave the Middle East, where SafeTravel alerts remained in place.
Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, Syria, Yemen, Bahrain, Israel, Kuwait, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, and the Occupied Palestinian Territories were all listed at Level 4 (Extreme risk to safety, security, or life) on SafeTravel’s travel alert list.
Jordan, Oman, and Saudi Arabia were at Level 3 – avoid non‑essential travel.
On Wednesday, a Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade spokesperson confirmed it had activated a co-ordination centre in response to the developing situation in the Middle East.
New Zealanders requiring urgent consular assistance should call the New Zealand 24/7 Consular Emergency Line on +64 99 20 20 20.
Bijou Johnson is a multimedia journalist based in the Bay of Plenty. A passionate writer and reader, she grew up in Tauranga and developed a love for journalism while exploring various disciplines at university. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Classical Studies from Massey University.