Iran hits base hosting NZ Defence Force personnel in Bahrain, none injured
Monday, 2 March 2026
No New Zealanders were injured in a strike against a US military base that houses about a dozen Royal New Zealand Navy personnel, according to the NZ Defence Force (NZDF).
Iran successfully launched a “kamikaze drone” against the United States Fifth Fleet base in Manama, Bahrain, in retaliatory strikes following attacks by the US and Israel. That military base also hosts the Combined Maritime Forces command centre, where about a dozen NZDF personnel are deployed.
An NZDF spokesperson said that, across the Middle East, there were about 60 NZDF personnel currently deployed. Other deployments included having liaison officers in Jordan, as part of a intelligence operation targeting Isis and terrorist groups, as well as military observers in Lebanon and Egypt, bordering Israel.
“All NZDF personnel currently deployed in the Middle East region are secure and accounted for,” the spokesperson said, after Stuff asked about the strike against the Combined Maritime Forces command centre.
The spokesperson would not confirm if the strike had impacted the Bahrain-based operation, which includes 47 nations, including New Zealand. The US-led combined forces operation targets piracy, narcotics and “illicit non-state actors” in the Indian Ocean, Red Sea, and Persian Gulf.
“Deployed personnel continue to carry out their duties associated with their Government-mandated missions where possible,” a spokesperson said.
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon also wouldn’t say if the NZDF was still working in Bahrain.
He referred questions to Chief of Defence Air Marshal Tony Davies, when Stuff asked about the operation during Monday’s post-Cabinet press conference. Stuff has asked the NZDF, but has not received a response.
Luxon said Davies had assured him, “our people are safe - which is important”.
In June last year, the NZDF celebrated after seizing 7 tonnes of narcotics - worth $1.8 billion - as part of a New Zealand-led Combined Maritime Task Force operation.
The operations were led by the Royal New Zealand Navy’s Captain Dave Barr and Commodore Rodger Ward, who were based at Bahrain base, known as Naval Support Activity (NSA).
Cellphone video captured in Bahrain over the weekend showed thick black smoke coming from the base after the Iranian drone hit it. The smoke continued into the evening, as fire fighters worked to extinguish the flames.
Military commentators said that Bahrain had, typically, had few air defence systems and so the drone - which was relatively cheap and low flying - was able to hit its target.
Tom Sharpe, a former Royal Navy Commander, told the BBC that American forces would have likely had time to evacuate the base before the drone hit.
More than 1700 Kiwis in the Middle East
On Monday, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade confirmed that more than 1700 New Zealanders were registered through Safe Travel as being in the Middle East.
It said there were 26 New Zealanders in Iran, 71 in Israel and the Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories, 262 in Qatar, 44 in Bahrain, 225 in Saudi Arabia, 27 in Kuwait and one person in Iraq. The majority of those registered on Safe Travel were in the United Arab Emirates, with 1091 New Zealanders there.
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said he expected there to be far more New Zealanders in the region than those who had registered on Safe Travel.
With flights cancelled, the ministry advised those in the region to “shelter in place”.