Iranian Kiwis call for expulsion of ambassador
Friday, 16 January 2026
Iranian-Kiwis are holding vigils and rallies in solidarity with Iranians killed during a brutal crackdown on protesters by the regime and calling for the expulsion of the Iranian ambassador to New Zealand.
More than 2500 people have been killed by the regime’s forces in a reign of terror in response to widespread protests, according to US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency.
Iranians in Wellington gathered outside the United States Embassy on Friday to demonstrate their support for those in Iran who had risen up against the regime.
Leila Dadian, a Christchurch resident who moved to New Zealand 13 years ago, was involved in a silent vigil in Christchurch’s Cathedral Square on Friday evening, with another rally planned at the city’s Bridge of Remembrance on Saturday from 12-1pm.
The events were aimed at raising awareness about the plight of Iranian people as a result of the crackdown, to show solidarity with their compatriots in Iran, and to call on the New Zealand Government to expel the Iranian ambassador Reza Nazarahari.
She said organisers were united in their support for the reinstatement of the exiled crown prince of Iran, Reza Pahlavi, who fled the country following the 1979 revolution, to lead a transition to a democratic Iran.
Dadian said she and Iranians around the country were desperately concerned for their friends and family in Iran, with no ability to contact them due to an internet blackout by the regime from January 9.
“I have no idea if they’re safe.”
Video footage and news of the crackdown was horrifying, with some families being forced to pay fees to the regime to claim the bodies of loved ones who had been killed, she said.
Dadian believed the crackdown was being carried out across the whole country, in all Iranian cities and provinces.
She said the New Zealand Government must take decisive action in support for the people of Iran by expelling the Iranian ambassador Reza Nazarahari.
“We can’t continue with business as usual while the regime is committing these atrocities, he shouldn’t be here while thousands are being slaughtered.”
In a statement issued on January 15, Minister for Foreign Affairs Winston Peters said New Zealand was “appalled by the escalation of violence and repression in Iran” and condemned the “brutal crackdown being carried out by Iran’s security forces, including the killing of protesters”.
“New Zealand has expressed our serious concerns directly to the Iranian Embassy in Wellington, and will continue to do so.”
Asked if the Government was considering Nazarahari’s expulsion, a spokesperson for Peters said “New Zealand sees the value in keeping channels of diplomatic communication open”.
“That helps being able to communicate clearly and unequivocally, in-person, particularly on matters of concern to the New Zealand people and government.”
The protests which started on December 28 following the collapse of the Iranian currency to a record low, have been described as the most serious challenge to the Iranian government since the 1979 revolution, according to a UN Security Council briefing.
The 2023 census recorded 5613 Iranian or Persian people living in New Zealand but the international Iranian diaspora numbers over 4 million, with a large exodus following the 1979 Iranian Islamic Revolution.