New Zealand has issued entry bans on 40 Iranian ministers and senior government officials, including Interior Minister Eskandar Momeni, Intelligence Minister Esmail Khatib, and Prosecutor General Mohammad Movahedi Azad. Several high‑ranking officers from Iran’s elite IRGC are also on the list.
Foreign Minister Winston Peters said the sanctions were imposed as a punitive response to the Iranian authorities’ harsh suppression of recent public protests. He warned that Wellington may expand the sanctions further if rights violations continue.
Peters said Iran has repeatedly violated its citizens’ rights to peaceful protest and free expression. This is not New Zealand’s first action against Tehran: during the Russia‑Ukraine war, Wellington sanctioned 29 Iranian individuals and 19 entities for allegedly assisting Russia’s military operations.
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