US-Iran conflict 'extremely worrying', NZ backs diplomacy - Winston Peters

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon says New Zealand wants to see a peaceful stable and secure Middle East, but more military action isn't the answer .

The United Nations Security Council was meeting in emergency session on Monday (NZ time) on the US on three key nuclear facilities at the weekend.

UN secretary-general Antonio Guterres said the US bombing marked a perilous turn in a region already reeling.

Iran called on the 15-member body to condemn what it called a "blatant and unlawful act of aggression", Reuters reported.

Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters says the government wants to know all the facts before taking a position on the US strike on Iran's nuclear facilities.

Luxon told Morning Report the way to get to a stable region was a political solution rather than military action.

"It's actually through dialogue and diplomacy."

As a small country that was thousands of miles away from the conflict all New Zealand could do was to advocate for what it thought should happen, he said.

"What we don't need is more military action, we need a political solution to all of these issues in the Middle East."

Luxon said New Zealand was not given advance notice about the US strikes on Iran which were "obviously pretty surgical in targeting those nuclear assets".

There was a lot of conjecture about how close Iran's programme had been to breaching 60 percent uranium enrichment, a precursor to nuclear arms, Luxon said.

"But that's all to be revealed in due course. What I'd say for right now is what we can do is we an urge those parties to get into a pattern of dialogue and diplomacy as difficult as that may well be".

Peters told Morning Report he was looking for evidence on the level of Iran's nuclear preparedness.

"I'm looking for the evidence to do with the nuclear enrichment programme that was way outside the negotiated position they've been taking all this time.

"That is, they've been marvellously good at negotiating their way out of things and the question is have they kept to their commitments, have they breached their international obligations. Let's find that out before we rush to judgement."

A Defence Force C-130J Hercules is leaving for the Middle East on Monday to help any New Zealanders stranded in Iran or Israel.

Peters reiterated New Zealanders should do everything they can to leave now if they could find a safe route.

He said the crisis could get far worse. "We just don't know, and if we don't know you've got to take the greatest precaution you possibly can."

On Sunday, Peters said ongoing military action in the Middle East was "extremely worrying". It was critical escalation was avoided, and New Zealand strongly support efforts towards diplomacy and urged all parties to return to talks,

"Iran's nuclear activities have long worried New Zealand. We want Iran to comply with its international obligations. Our concern is that further military action is not going to deliver a sustainable solution to this problem."

Labour's defence spokesperson Peeni Henare backed Peters' calls for a return to talks, but said the government should acknowledge the US breached international law and be "perhaps a bit stronger" in the first instance.

Henare said Trump's statements had made it "quite clear" what had happened.

"Countries can't call for peace and de-escalation, only to take the action that's been taken."

Waikato University law professor Alexander Gillespie said the airstrikes were "clearly" illegal in terms of international law.

"There's nowhere in the UN charter that says you can bomb someone who won't negotiate with you. But whether you get to a point where that is actually condemned is going to be very different," he said.

"There's the theory of international law, with the UN Charter, and then there's the reality of international politics at the moment, which means that America will not be condemned internationally by the Security Council or even through the International Court of Justice."

The prime minister is heading to NATO this week.

New Zealand is not a member, but in recent years has been invited as a partner along with fellow Indo-Pacific Four nations Australia, Japan and South Korea.

While Christopher Luxon would be "on the margins," Gillespie expected he would be watching closely to see what like-minded partners were saying.

"This is an act which is not self-defence, and even if you argued it was pre-emptive self-defence, it wasn't necessary because there were other options of diplomacy still open. It will create difficulties if we speak out and say that, I don't think we're in a position to do that right now, for fear of the reaction that you get from America."

Australia's government has already issued a statement on the airstrikes.

"We have been clear that Iran's nuclear and ballistic missile program has been a threat to international peace and security," the statement said.

"We note the US president's statement that now is the time for peace. The security situation in the region is highly volatile. We continue to call for de-escalation, dialogue, and diplomacy."

Defence Force plane leaves today

The government is sending a C-130J Hercules plane to the Middle East, along with Defence Force and Foreign Affairs personnel, to assist New Zealanders stranded in Iran and Israel.

Defence minister Judith Collins said the plane was a contingency, and would not be able to aid in evacuation flights until airspace restrictions in the region eased.

In the meantime, those who were able to leave via a safe route were urged to do so.

Peters said the flights would get people to a safe place.

"We're not bringing them home. We're getting them to where they can make arrangements to get home."

The government has been warning New Zealanders in the region to leave for a long time, Peters said.

The number of New Zealanders registered as being in Iran or Israel had increased in recent days.

The decision to send the Hercules was made even before knowledge of the airstrikes had come through.

"Our anxiety was enunciated and formulated into policy, warnings, and collections of views months ago. We've been saying it, and it's a sad circumstance here, but we said 'look this is very dangerous, get out,'" Peters said.

Citing security reasons, Collins would not say where the plane and personnel would be based.

Both Henare and Gillespie supported the move.

"I think if we're ready and on standby, at the very least, to make sure we can respond to our citizens and their needs, and also those of our diplomatic staff, I think that's a really smart move," Henare said.

Gillespie said sending a plane was prudent in case the situation worsened quickly, and the damage became more indiscriminate.

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