Political relations between Iran and New Zealand
Political relations between Iran and New Zealand started in December 1973. On the 28thof March 1974, the Ambassador of Iran in Australia at the time was appointed as the Acredited Ambassador to New Zealand and on the 22ndof December 1974, the New Zealand Embassy in Iran was inaugurated.
Since its start, the relationship between the two countries has been stable. In 1982, the Hon. Warren Cooper travelled to Iran as the first Minister of Foreign Affairs of New Zealand to visit Iran after the Islamic Revolution. Political relations between the two countries carried on with Iran’s Prime Minister’s visit to Wellington in 1991 followed by the Hon. Don Macquine’s, New Zealand’s Prime Minister at the time, visit to Iran in 1993 and further political delegates to both countries.
In International meetings, both countries have expressed common views in many respects, i.e. disarmment, fight against narcotics, extremism and preservation of the environment, and each has supported the others’ candidates. For instance, New Zealand supported the Iranian candidate for the International Organization for Migration (IMO) in 2005 and the Islamic Republic of Iran supported Sir Kenneth Keith’s candidacy in the International Court of Justice (ICJ). Furthermore, New Zealand supported H.E. Jamshid Momtaz’ candidacy in the International Law Commission of the United Nations.
In 2013, the relationship between the two countries entered its fourth decade. In 2014, the Hon. Murray McCully, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of New Zealand, visited Iran. In the same year, Iran voted in favour of New Zealand’s membership in the United Nations Security Council.
New Zealand has always supported resolving Iran’s nuclear issue through diplomacy. In this respect, the Vienna Deal was signed at the UN General Assembly under the presidency of the Hon. Murray McCully, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade of New Zealand.
Both countries have directly negotiated and exchanged views regarding current crises in the Middle East (Palestine, Syria, Yemen, Afghanistan). Since New Zealand took up its seat as a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, for 2015 and 2016, these negotiations have increased and the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the two countries have met a number of times.