Minister Hon Nanaia Mahuta responded today to earlier demands made on the government by the Iranian-Kiwi community of Aotearoa New Zealand (the Community).

In an official meeting with the Minister on November 9, 2022, the Community demanded the government – through petitions delivered to Parliament and in several rallies held since the beginning of the uprisings in Iran – to designate the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a terrorist organisation, and reduce New Zealand’s diplomatic relations with the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) to consular services.

The Community’s reasons include:

• encouraging Aotearoa New Zealand to take steps in line with its like-minded partners the US, Canada, the UK, and the EU
• cutting the international reach of the terrorist IRGC and shielding Aotearoa New Zealand against this dangerous organisation
• protecting activists in Aotearoa New Zealand from the potential retaliation by the regime.

Minister Mahuta explained to the Community that New Zealand prefers to keep the channel of diplomacy and dialogue open and that none of New Zealand’s like-minded partners have recalled their ambassadors yet. While the response of the IRI to the recently formed UN investigation channel has been “there will be no cooperation” and the regime has shown to use diplomacy as a cover for its domestic and overseas criminal acts, the question raised is whether the small gain of keeping the door of diplomacy fully open outweighs the cost and risk of offering the IRI an official platform in Aotearoa New Zealand.

Regarding the designation of the IRGC as a terrorist organisation, Minister Mahuta declared that it is the Prime Minister’s decision and that Prime Minister is considering the matter. She also suggested that actions taken against the Iranian regime and the IRGC by New Zealand partners are pre-existing and do not necessarily date from the beginning of the current uprisings.

Minister Mahuta’s comments reflect the cautious approach taken by the government and leave the Iranian-Kiwi community concerned that the urgency of the matter is not being acknowledged and that the government’s intelligence is outdated and optimistically skewed. The Iranian-Kiwi community has repeated its offer to voluntarily assist the government with up-to-date and fact-checked intelligence.

The fact that the majority of New Zealand’s like minded partners have already acted and are working on more severe measures shows that New Zealand is taking the matter less seriously than others. The Minister was confident the government would be aware of any security risk, but we respectfully disagree. Given our understanding of the IRGC and its sophisticated approach to interfering in foreign territories, we suggest the government is being naive leaving the door open for the IRGC to seek safe haven in Aotearoa New Zealand.

1. The intelligence the Minister is provided with is lagged and not up-to-date.
   • No political prisoner has been released from the IRI’s prisons yet. A few high-profile prisoners were temporarily bailed out as the direct result of pressuring the regime (e.g., Hossein Ronaghi – one of the bailed out political prisoners – was on a hunger strike for over 60 days).

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