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The New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) says it is monitoring developments in the region after Iran attacked airbases throughout the Middle East.
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Retaliatory air strikes targeted military facilities in Bahrain, Kuwait and Jordan today as tensions between the United States and Iran continued to escalate.
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Kiwi military personnel are based across the region, including at the Combined Maritime Forces (CMF) Headquarters in Bahrain.
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The CMF base is co-located with the US Fifth Fleet, a naval command Iran earlier claimed to have successfully targeted.
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That claim has not yet been independently verified.
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“The New Zealand Defence Force currently has around 40 personnel from all three services deployed on pre-existing Government-mandated missions throughout the Middle East region,” they said.
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According to the NZDF website, up to 20 personnel have been deployed to Bahrain.
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“The NZDF continues to closely monitor events, assess the situation in the region and has contingency plans in place, should they be necessary.”
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The latest strikes came after Iran allegedly shot down an Apache attack helicopter on Monday, prompting a series of “self-defence” attacks by the United States.
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In a post on X, US Central Command said “the mission is a proportional response to unjustified Iranian aggression”.
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A ceasefire had been in place between the two nations since April 8, with US President Donald Trump claiming negotiations to end the conflict were nearly complete.
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The renewed fighting threatens oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s most significant energy export passages, raising fears of further disruption to global markets.:Source NZ Herald
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