25 Jun 2025

Lucky NZers back home after escaping Iran-Israel conflict

From Checkpoint, 4:31 pm on 25 June 2025

As a fragile ceasefire between Iran and Israel continues to hold for now, the government is working to get more than 200 New Zealanders out of the region, though some are trying to make their own way home in difficult and dangerous circumstances. New Zealand's Foreign Minister Winston Peters is urging them to hunker down and stay safe, as a New Zealand Defence Force Hercules makes its way to the Middle East to help bring them home. The almost two weeks of conflict and a temporary airport closure in Qatar has caused chaos at the borders and some frightening encounters for kiwi travellers. Some of the lucky ones landed safely back on New Zealand soil today. Mary Argue reports.