Last night New Zealand’s minister of foreign affairs, Winston Peters, met with the United States’ secretary of state, Marco Rubio, just hours after Donald Trump shared a social media post stating, “A whole civilisation will die tonight, never to ​be brought back ​again. I don’t want that ‌to ⁠happen, but it probably will.”

Since that post, Trump has announced a two-week ceasefire if Iran allows renewed access through the Strait of Hormuz.

New Zealand’s official position remains that we neither support nor oppose the US-Israeli war on Iran. Yesterday, New Zealand’s prime minister Christopher Luxon said, “This is not a time for escalating rhetoric or actions … New Zealand expects all parties to comply with international law and international humanitarian law, which includes the protection of civilians and civilian infrastructure.”

On Breakfast this morning, opposition leader Chris Hipkins said, “Winston Peters’ Donald Trump appeasement strategy isn’t working for us as a country … we should be true to our own values.”

Made with the support of NZ On Air.