Israeli Embassy in Wellington, New Zealand, closes as part of worldwide mission shutdown

The Israeli embassy in Wellington has closed as part of a worldwide closure of Israel’s diplomatic missions. The embassy, on Brandon Street in Wellington, serves New Zealand as well as Tonga, Samoa, the Cook Islands and Niue. It also operates a consulate office in Auckland.

RNZ reported that the closures came as tensions remained high in the region. Israel had launched an attack on Iranian nuclear and military facilities on Friday, and Iran responded with attacks of its own. RNZ noted that an earlier version of its story had said Iran launched 100 drones toward Israel, a claim that was unconfirmed. That wording was changed to say Iran “responded to with attacks of its own.”

A message on the embassy’s website said: “In light of recent developments, Israeli missions around the world will be closed and consular services will not be provided.” It added: “An online form is available for Israelis abroad to report their location and current status.” The message also gave general safety guidance for Israelis abroad, encouraging them to avoid displaying Jewish or Israeli symbols in public spaces and to avoid attending large gatherings or events associated with Israel or Jewish communities. An “unpublish” date on the message indicated it was intended to remain on the website until the end of July.

In a statement sent to RNZ on Saturday morning, the Israeli embassy said Iran was “only moments away from a nuclear weapon” and that Israel “had no choice.” The embassy said Iran had accumulated large amounts of highly enriched uranium, “sufficient for more than nine nuclear bombs,” and that a third of it had been enriched and accumulated in the last three months alone. It described this as “a drastic increase of production volume.” The embassy said Israel had for years said Iran was working toward nuclear weapons, and that the recent “accelerated effort has not been seen in the last two decades.”

The embassy stated: “Israel has the right to defend itself, and it has launched a precise self-defense campaign as a last resort.” It accused Iran of targeting civilian populations in its retaliatory attacks, and said Israel had only “targeted senior military commanders and nuclear weapons developers.” It also said: “Israel will not allow a regime that openly calls for its destruction to possess nuclear weapons or vast stockpiles of advanced ballistic missiles.” These are the embassy’s claims; RNZ’s report does not independently verify them.

Israel’s embassy in Sweden said the country would close its diplomatic missions around the world and that consular services would not be provided, according to a Reuters report cited by RNZ. The Swedish embassy’s statement took effect at about 11pm on Friday, New Zealand time. It did not say how long the missions would be closed.

Source: Read the original report