Hon Nanaia Mahuta
Minister of Foreign Affairs
Minita Take Aorere
Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta has announced new sanctions on Iranians supplying drones to Russia and expanded travel bans on those responsible for the violent response to protests.
“New Zealand condemns all individuals and entities supporting Russia’s illegal and unprovoked invasion of Ukraine,” Nanaia Mahuta said.
“Iran’s supply and manufacture of drones to Russia, threatens the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine. These drones are targeting civilians and vital infrastructure causing suffering and devastation for the Ukrainian people.
“In order to place pressure on Russia’s war machine, we are sanctioning a further eight Iranian individuals and entities. They will be subject to asset freezes, travel bans and have restrictions on commercial activity with anyone in New Zealand.
“Those sanctioned include the Head of Supply, Research and Industrial Affairs Division at the Iranian Ministry of Defence and Armed Forces Logistics, the Commander of the Iranian Air Force, and companies responsible for the manufacture of drones,” Nanaia Mahuta said.
New Zealand has now sanctioned five Iranian entities and seven Iranian individuals associated with Russia’s war on Ukraine.
“Today’s sanctions against Iran follow separate measures that we are taking in response to human rights violations in the wake of Mahsa Amini’s death,” Nanaia Mahuta said.
“New Zealand continues to be appalled by the use of force by Iranian authorities in response to peaceful protests. In light of further developments, including the implementation of death penalty sentences, we have expanded the list of banned individuals to 37.
“Banned individuals include members of the Iranian Judiciary who oversee executions in Iran, the Morality Police, the Law Enforcement Command, and members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. They will not be allowed to enter or transit New Zealand.
“New Zealand continues to call on Iran to immediately stop the violation of human rights of Iranians, including by commuting all death penalty sentences that have been imposed,” Nanaia Mahuta said.
The Government has announced the following actions in response to the war in Ukraine:
- Banned exports to Russian and Belarusian military and security forces.
- Suspended diplomatic consultations with Russia.
- Passed the historic Russia Sanctions Act under which we have passed sanctions targeting:
- Vladimir Putin and key members of his inner circle.
- Senior leadership of the Security Council of the Russian Federation.
- All 620 members of the Russian parliament (State Duma and Federation Council).
- More than 300 entities including state-owned enterprises, entities that are part of Russia’s military industrial complex, Donbas militia groups, Belarusian defence entities.
- 104 oligarchs and close family with close ties and influence with the Russian Government.
- 19 financial institutions, including Russia’s Central Bank.
- 14 individuals and entities involved in disinformation and cyber-attacks on Ukraine.
- 35 Belarusian leaders.
- Almost 100 Russian-directed leaders in the Donetsk and Luhansk Peoples’ Republics and occupied Ukrainian regions.
- Banned all Russian and Belarusian Government and military aircraft and vessels from NZ.
Trade measures
- Implemented a 35% tariff on all Russian imports to NZ (this was due to expire in November but has been extended to 2025 to align with other sanctions).
- Banned the import of Russian gold into NZ.
- Significantly expanded the export ban on Russia and Belarus to cover more industrial products of strategic importance (by adding more than 700 new prohibited tariff lines).
- Banned the import of Russian oil, gas, and coal.
- Banned the export of oil exploration and oil production goods to Russia.
- Banned the import from and export to Russia of certain luxury goods.
Other Ukraine-related assistance
- Provided direct support to Ukraine’s self-defence:
- $11.35m of non-lethal military assistance to support Ukraine via the NATO Trust Fund and communications equipment procured from TAIT.
- $7.5m to contribute to weapons and ammunition procurement by the United Kingdom.
- $4.1m to support commercial satellite access for the Ukrainian Defence Intelligence.
- Surplus NZDF equipment also sent to Ukraine. 1066 x Body Armour Plates, 473 x Helmets, 571 x Camouflage Vests/Harness Webbing.
- Deployment of defence force personnel to the United Kingdom, Belgium and Germany, to support Ukraine in training, intelligence, liaison, and logistics activities.
- Provided $10.93 million in humanitarian assistance for both refugees and those still in Ukraine.
- Contributed $1.85 million to the World Food Programme to help address food insecurity across the globe, which has been exacerbated by the crisis in Ukraine
- Provided $1.315 million to the International Criminal Court (ICC) to support the ICC’s investigation into war crimes and crimes against humanity in Ukraine, with funding for the Office of the Prosecutor and the Trust Fund for Victims.
- Secondment of a senior NZDF military officer to support the ICC investigation
- Provided $1m to the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights.
- Intervened as a third party in support of Ukraine’s International Court of Justice case against Russia.
- Established a special Ukraine visa for family members of Ukrainian New Zealanders plus other visa changes.
Ukraine Special Visa Policy numbers as of 8 February:
- 1,090 Expressions of Interest in sponsoring received (of which 1,077 processed)
- 867 Invitations to Apply for Visas sent (the balance of the 1,077 includes 93 cancelled and 97 declined)
- 1,403 visa applications received
- 1,290 visas approved (1,109 work visas and 181 student visas)
- 591 people granted Special Visas had arrived in New Zealand.
More information can be found on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade website.
Travel bans
The full list of travel banned Iranians can be found at: Targeted travel bans on individuals responsible for human rights violations in Iran | New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (mfat.govt.nz)
The list of previous measures adopted in response to the Iranian regime’s human rights violations is available here.
Previous Government measures in response to the Iranian regime’s human rights violations include:
- Joint efforts with Canada and Australia to press Iran to halt all executions
- Travel bans announced in response to the death of Mahsa Amini and subsequent repression of protests
- Diplomatic efforts at the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, where Aotearoa New Zealand co-sponsored a resolution for a fact-finding mission to investigate human rights violations.
- At the UN Security Council in New York we called for Iran to deal with the grievances of its people; and as part of a group of women foreign ministers we called for protection of the right to protest.
- In addition to multilateral efforts alongside like-minded partners, New Zealand has taken direct measures to reset our bilateral relationship with Iran, suspending our Human Rights Dialogue indefinitely, and urging New Zealand travellers in Iran to leave.
- New Zealand also supported international initiatives to uphold media freedomand condemn internet shutdowns in Iran.