Regime Change.

If the Israelis and Americans are demanding regime change in Iran, then New Zealand needs to ask: “What sort of regime change?”

THE JOINT MILITARY ASSAULT on Iran by the United States and Israel has placed New Zealand in an awkward position. Viewed through the lens of international law the attack is unequivocally illegal. The United States is a signatory to the United Nations Charter which, with the exception of defensive measures undertaken to counter actual or imminent aggression, outlaws military action against other member states.

Far from preparing to attack the US, the Iranian government was engaged in diplomatic negotiations with the Americans. According to the Omani foreign minister, who was facilitating these discussions, they were proceeding in a positive direction. The United States had no grounds for launching what the Pentagon is calling “Operation Epic Fury”.

Were our own or any other government considered a friend and/or ally of the United States to declare openly that its military action against Iran is illegal, however, the consequences of such outspokenness would not be pleasant. The administration of President Donald Trump has demonstrated repeatedly its willingness to impose severe economic penalties on any nation foolhardy enough to criticise its conduct.

New Zealand’s foreign minister, Winston Peters, is well aware of the risks attached to such candour. He understands that in relation to the Trump Administration silence is golden. Saying nothing, or offering only the blandest of responses, may leave outraged New Zealanders with nothing to praise, but, equally, it leaves the Americans with nothing to punish.