3rd March, 2026
For Immediate Release
The Disarmament and Security Centre | Te Whare Maukāroko (DSC) condemns the illegal attack on Iran by the US & Israel and calls for an immediate return to negotiations.
Ōtautahi, Christchurch, NZ - The Disarmament and Security Centre strongly condemns the ongoing military strikes by the United States of America and Israel against Iran. These attacks constitute a grave violation of international law and represent a dangerous escalation at a time when diplomatic negotiations were ongoing regarding Iran’s nuclear programme. For the second time in less than a year, the US and Israel have attacked Iran on the pretext of preventing nuclear proliferation. This claim is inaccurate and misleading and the strikes serve broader strategic goals. Read our previous statement On the Israel-Iran War: Diplomacy Must Prevail.
The targeting of political, military, and civilian sites —including strikes that killed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamanei and other high-ranking government and security officials—appears intended to destabilise Iran and effect potential regime change in a manner that risks further escalation and regional instability. Such actions fall outside the framework of the United Nations Charter and do not meet any widely recognised standard of lawful pre-emptive self-defence. When powerful states bypass international legal constraints, the global norm against unilateral use of force is weakened for all. These developments are reminiscent of the disastrous 2003 war in Iraq, which destabilised the region and had long-lasting humanitarian and security consequences. This is not merely another regional confrontation — it is a direct blow to the fragile architecture of international law designed to prevent war and human destruction.
The DSC notes that negotiations were taking place as recently as this past week to address concerns surrounding Iran’s nuclear programme. Iran is not currently assessed by international authorities, nor by the United States itself, to have an active nuclear weapons programme. Military action is not a viable or long-term solution to nuclear proliferation concerns. History demonstrates that coercion and escalation increase proliferation pressures rather than resolve them.
The US/Israeli strikes on Iran have inevitably provoked further retaliation and we are deeply concerned at the expansion of the conflict into a broader regional war, placing civilians across Iran, Israel, and the wider Middle East at grave risk. It is especially alarming that two nuclear-armed states have resorted to military action against a non-nuclear-weapon state during an active negotiation process. Such actions undermine trust in diplomacy and demonstrate the hypocrisy and absence of good faith in the US professed commitment to peaceful resolution. Furthermore, this conflict has also shown clearly that countries hosting US bases can become targets. Iran’s retaliatory strikes have hit US and Allied assets in the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, Jordan, Oman, Cyprus, and Saudi Arabia underscoring how bases in third countries can draw them into violence. While acknowledging the serious human rights concerns within Iran, the DSC stresses that political change must come from within a country’s own people. It cannot be imposed through external military intervention or unlawful force. Experience in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Libya demonstrates that military interventions aimed at political transformation often result in prolonged instability, destruction, and civilian suffering.
We therefore call for:
● An immediate ceasefire by all parties
● A halt to further military action
● An urgent return to diplomatic negotiations
● Respect for international law and the United Nations Charter
We are disappointed by the response of the New Zealand Government, which has failed to clearly condemn the unlawful military actions of the United States and Israel while only criticising the inevitable retaliation from the Iranian regime. As a small state that relies on the strength of international law, New Zealand must consistently uphold the rules-based international order.
Furthermore, as a leading nuclear-free nation the New Zealand Government urgently needs to draw attention to the fact that Israel is a de-facto nuclear-armed nation which has developed a triad of nuclear weaponry with impunity, which its leaders have publicly warned they will use if Israel experiences significant civilian casualties. The US and Israel, having provoked Iran to retaliate causing the first such casualties, will share responsibility if Netanyahu decides to use a nuclear weapon, with potentially apocalyptic consequences.
We stand in solidarity with civilians in Iran, Israel, and across the region who bear the heaviest cost of conflict. Lasting peace and security will not be achieved through aggression or escalation, but through diplomacy, dialogue, and common security. The DSC calls on peace-loving people around the world and on global leaders to urgently intervene to de-escalate tensions and return all parties to negotiations.
Disarmament and Security Centre | Te Whare Maukāroko
Media Inquiries:
Lucy Stewart
Programme Manager
lucy@disarmsecure.org | 022 067 3517
Dr Marcus Coll
Research Fellow | Project Lead
marcus@disarmsecure.org | 022 594 3345
