The New Zealand government has enacted fresh travel restrictions against top Iranian officials, targeting ministers implicated in the brutal crackdown on protests.
“It has been horrifying to witness the brutal killing of thousands of protestors in Iran,” Foreign Minister Winston Peters said.
Peters said Iranians are entitled to peaceful protests, free expression, and unfettered access to information.
“Those rights have been ruthlessly violated.”
The new sanctions impose travel bans on 40 individuals accused of human rights violations. Those listed include Iran’s Interior Minister Eskandar Momeni, Intelligence Minister Esmail Khatib, and Prosecutor-General Mohammad Movahedi-Azad. They also target members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
These measures bar the named individuals from entering or transiting through New Zealand.
The travel bans extend to three Iranian individuals linked to what the government calls Iran’s “malign activities abroad.”
“Iran’s destabilising activities are totally outside the norms of acceptable state behaviour,” Peters said.
“Today’s actions send a clear message that those who act with callous disregard for human life are not welcome here.
“New Zealand will continue to act deliberately and alongside partners when we see actions that undermine international law and regional stability.”
New Zealand aligns with Australia, the UK, the EU, Canada, and the US by imposing matching sanctions over Iran’s actions.
The NZ government said these latest measures expand on prior sanctions. New Zealand has already issued three rounds of travel bans targeting 55 individuals for human rights abuses in Iran.
New Zealand has also sanctioned 29 Iranian individuals and 19 entities for aiding Russia’s unlawful invasion of Ukraine.