‘Strikes undermine international peace’: Opposition parties hit out at Luxon’s Iran stance

Sunday, 1 March 2026

Following attacks by the United States and Israel against Iran, New Zealand’s political sphere has been divided in opinion.

The strikes were supported by Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters, who said in a joint statement on Sunday that the people of Iran must be allowed to determine their own future, away from the Islamic regime.

The US and Israel launched a major attack on Iran on Saturday, and US President Donald Trump called on the Iranian public to “seize control of your destiny” by rising up against the Islamic leadership that has ruled the nation since 1979.

Hipkins: attacks ‘undermine international peace'

The situation in Iran is “deeply concerning”, Labour leader Chris Hipkins said on Sunday.

In a statement on social media, Hipkins said that “Our first thoughts are with the people caught up in this conflict - in Iran, in the countries in the wider region, and the New Zealand families worried about loved ones”.

“We recognise the courage of Iranians who have taken to the streets demanding change, at enormous personal risk and we condemn the serious human rights violations that have been perpetrated against them. Military escalation does not produce the stability the region needs,” he said.

“The attacks on Iran and the retaliatory strikes undermine international peace and security and put civilian lives at risk.

“New Zealand must urge all parties - including close allies - to show restraint, pursue diplomatic solutions and first and foremost, protect the rights and safety of Iranian civilians.

“New Zealand must use its voice on the world stage to call for de-escalation, for a return to negotiations, and for the right of the Iranian people to determine their own future.”

‘Unilateral attack on Iran must be condemned’, Greens say

Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson said the Prime Minister’s “failure to condemn Trump’s illegal actions again demonstrates his lack of leadership or moral courage.”

“This latest escalation in aggression is part of a decades long pattern of behaviour of the US dragging the region into more wars, violence, and bloodshed,” she said.

“The wider region has immediately been drawn into this violence, with hundreds reported dead in only a single day. The idea that it’s okay to bomb other countries because you don’t like their leader is reprehensible.

She said Trump and Netanyahu’s attack on Iran “must be condemned as an illegal and unprovoked act against the people of the region and any genuine pathway to peace”.

Te Pāti Māori: ‘We reject the idea that bombing, invasion, or unilateral military strikes create peace

An official statement from Te Pāti Māori condemned the strikes in Iran and across the Middle East.

“We reject the idea that bombing, invasion, or unilateral military strikes create peace. History shows us the opposite. Military aggression destabilises regions, costs civilian lives, and deepens generational trauma,” the statement read.

“Two truths can exist at once. Authoritarian regimes can be oppressive. And foreign military intervention driven by geopolitical interests does not liberate ordinary people. It is everyday families who pay the price. Bombing innocent girls at their school is monstrous!”

The party said that as Indigenous people, they know what it means when powerful nations justify force in the name of “security”, “order”, or “freedom”.

“Too often those words mask economic interests, strategic dominance, and political ego. The legacy is displacement, grief, and long-term instability.”

“War has never delivered enduring safety for ordinary people. It delivers profit for arms dealers and political theatre for leaders, while families bury their loved ones.”