Author: MIL-OSI Publisher

Posted on

Matariki – Matariki Message from HM King Charles III

Matariki Message from HM King Charles III
Source: New Zealand Government House – for  HM King Charles III
E mihi ana ki a Matariki mā Puanga.
My wife and I send our warmest greetings to all those in Aotearoa New Zealand celebrating Matariki, the Māori New Year. This year, I particularly acknowledge those iwi and regions that look to the star Puanga, or Rigel, to signal the New Year.
The rising of Matariki and Puanga on the Eastern horizon heralds a time to reflect on the past, to remember absent loved ones and to prepare for a prosperous future. It also marks a time where many different peoples and communities come together in celebration, united under the same night sky.
Regardless of how, or whether, one marks the lunar calendar, this moment offers an opportunity to learn and share knowledge, and to embrace the diverse traditions that shape Aotearoa New Zealand’s unique identity.
I wish you all a bright year ahead. Mānawatia a Matariki.
CHARLES R.
Posted on

Energy Sector – Electricity generators collaborate to help secure New Zealand’s energy future

Source: Energy Resources Aotearoa

Energy Resources Aotearoa welcomes today’s announcement from Genesis Energy and other major electricity generators, Mercury, Meridian, and Contact, setting out a proposed long-term agreement to establish a strategic energy reserve and retain Huntly’s Rankine units to support a secure energy future for New Zealand.
Energy Resources Aotearoa Chief Executive John Carnegie says the proposal is a pragmatic signal that generators can work together to manage growing system risks.
“As New Zealand navigates the challenges of declining domestic natural gas, growing but intermittent renewable generation, and highly volatile economic and geopolitical conditions, this proposal is a practical response to uncertainty.
“Huntly has long been New Zealand’s energy security blanket. Its dual-fuel capability – capable of running on both coal and natural gas – provides the system with resilience and flexibility, with the potential to expand this to biomass in the future.
More domestic gas supply will further enhance this capability and reduce our dependence on coal during periods of peak demand or supply shortfall.”
“We welcome more wind and solar, but they also make the system more volatile. We need to increase our firm generation capacity even more, in the form of more gas-fired power plants, to meet demand peaks. There’s no single fix, but this proposal is a useful part of the solution as we manage uncertainty.”
Energy Resources Aotearoa will continue to advocate for policy and regulatory settings that support long-term investment in reliable, secure and affordable energy, to power New Zealand’s future.
Posted on

National Emergencies – Volunteers crucial to our emergency management system – NEMA

Source: National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA)

 

Emergency management is everyone’s responsibility – and this National Volunteer Week (15-21 June), NEMA is celebrating the people in our communities that put in the hard yards when things get tough.

 

Volunteers are involved at every level in Aotearoa New Zealand’s emergency management system. They are a crucial part of all four Rs – risk reduction, readiness, response and recovery – and they balance home, family and day jobs alongside stepping up for their communities.

 

“There are so many ways volunteers contribute to our emergency management system, and we want to thank everyone who gets involved,” NEMA’s Director of Civil Defence Emergency Management John Price says.

  • New Zealand Response Teams (known as NZRTs) support Civil Defence Emergency Management groups, working with emergency services, helping manage evacuations and running Civil Defence Centres. NZRTs are staffed by qualified personnel and there are teams across the country.
  • Most communities have a Civil Defence Centre or community hub, where locals can come together during and after an emergency. These are opened and run by people in the community.
  • Many different organisations provide search and rescue services, including Land Search and Rescue, Coastguard New Zealand, Amateur Radio Emergency Communications and Surf Live Saving New Zealand.
  • Volunteers with Fire and Emergency New Zealand help communities prevent, prepare, respond and recover from emergencies.

 

“I also want to give a shout-out to the people across the country who help their communities in other ways,” John Price says.

 

“There are lots of ways to help out in emergencies, whether it’s as part of an organised group or just mucking in and helping your neighbours.

 

“Volunteers are the golden thread creating closer ties across communities and building the social cohesion that is so important.

 

“We also need to remember that behind every volunteer who’s out in the field, there are administrators, people running training and logistics – and those at home who are keeping the whānau safe.

 

“Volunteers tell us they love what they do and find it extremely rewarding, as well as a great way to meet people and build closer ties with communities.”

 

For those who want to get involved, John Price says there’s more information on NEMA’s Get Ready site, as well as Volunteering New Zealand which can match keen people with opportunities to get stuck in.

 

“Without our volunteers, we’d be in trouble in an emergency. That’s why we always want to hear from people who can step up when things are tough, and help their community.”

Posted on

Health and Employment – Theatre nurses in Whangārei to strike – NZNO

Source: New Zealand Nurses Organisation

Te Whatu Ora theatre nurses and health care assistants at Whangārei Hospital who are NZNO members will strike next Tuesday over concerns about chronic and ongoing staff shortages.
The New Zealand Nurses Organisation Tōpūtanga Tapuhi Kaitiaki o Aotearoa (NZNO) perioperative nurses and health care assistants – from the surgical admission unit, theatre and post anaesthetic units – will undertake three rolling four-hour strikes beginning at 7am and ending at 7pm on Tuesday 24 June.
NZNO delegate and perioperative nurse Steph Moule says the nurses and health care assistants are standing up for their patients.
“This stand is part of the current collective agreement bargaining between NZNO and Te Whatu Ora. Our patients deserve safe staffing levels. Not burnt out nurses and health care assistants who don’t have time to give them the care they need.
“Our patients deserve better. Our members will not accept patient safety being threatened by unrealistic budget cuts.”
Steph Moule says overworked nurses and health care assistants are also facing an effective pay cut.
“The latest offer made by Te Whatu Ora offered a 1% wage increase this year backdated and a further 1% next April. That doesn’t keep up with the cost of living and will see nurses and health care workers and their whānau going backwards financially,” she says.
Posted on

Local News – Aotea Lagoon southern area re-opens – Porirua

Source: Porirua City Council

After eight months of work, the south end of Aotea Lagoon in Porirua is open for the public to enjoy.
The project to make this popular place in Porirua safer, more inviting and modern was officially opened on Thursday (19 June) and the upgrade includes:
– New toilets
– A wider and more open entrance
– Updated lighting
– A new lawn and events space, with a Rotary boardwalk and native wetland planting (about 2000 plants have been put in)
– A pathway out to the Aotea Lions train (there used to be just one way in and out), with the train station area repaired and painted
– Increased shade with three large trees planted, and shade over the seated area too
– A more prominent spot for the Guy Ngan sculpture
– An additional disabled car park in the southern car park
The work, carried out by John Fillmore Contracting, has made this part of Aotea Lagoon accessible and safer, Porirua Mayor Anita Baker says.
“There is better visibility, more than one exit, and it’s a lovely, open space that Porirua residents and the many visitors that come, will enjoy,” she says.
Julian Emeny, Manager Parks, says working with Rotary – who built the original rose garden 40 years ago – for a positive outcome has made the project special.
“What we have now, for an area of Aotea Lagoon that was starting to show its age, is a place where we can hold different events, like concerts and school performances, and somewhere the public can book,” he says.
Posted on

Israel’s NZ Energy Deals In Spotlight – PSNA congratulates Mercury Energy abandoning contract with Israel’s Ormat Technologies but Contact Energy should follow

Source: Palestine Solidarity Network Aotearoa (PSNA)

Palestine Solidarity Network Aotearoa is congratulating Mercury Energy’s terminating its contract with Israel’s Ormat Technologies to design the Ngatamariki geothermal power station near Taupo.

PSNA Co-Chair Maher Nazzal says it appears Mercury has acknowledged the legal jeopardy of Israeli companies operating throughout the world.

“The International Court of Justice last year declared Israel’s presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territories is illegal and called on everyone to stop giving ‘aid or assistance’ to Israel which will help it to maintain its illegal occupation.”

“Mercury’s decision is in line the ICJ findings and we welcome it as a victory for the Boycott Divestment and Sanctions campaign to isolate Israel.”

“No New Zealand companies should have any dealings with Israel, either directly or indirectly.”

“Israel is a rogue genocide and apartheid state – a threat and an embarrassment to all of humanity,” Nazal says.“But the Ormat contract with Mercury is not the only one.  We are now renewing our calls on Contact Energy to do the same and cut its links with Ormat Technologies.”

“If Contact doesn’t follow Mercury, then I’m sure many electricity consumers will take the Israeli connection in mind and so switch from Contact to Mercury.”

Maher Nazzal

Co-Chair PSNA

 

Here is a copy of the letter we sent to Contact Energy in November last year:

15 November 2024

Mike Fuge

Chief Executive Officer

Contact Energy

 

c/o Louise Wright

Head of Communications and Reputation

Kia ora Mr Fuge,

Contact Energy partnering with the racist apartheid state of Israel

We noted your media release of 13 November 2024 (“Contact invests to redevelop Wairakei”) which confirms Contact is investing to begin replacing the Wairakei geothermal power station.

What your release doesn’t mention is that you are intending to partner with an Israeli company, Ormat Technologies, through an Engineering, Procurement, and Construction (EPC) contract to build the new plant. Ormat has confirmed this in their own announcement dated a day earlier.

It is not tenable for Contact Energy to sign off on this agreement and we are requesting the company withdraw from doing so immediately. Signing this proposed agreement would be a kick in the teeth for Palestinians suffering from industrial-scale slaughter at the hands of the apartheid state of Israel in which Ormat Technologies is embedded.

Ormat Technologies has its main production facilities based in Yavne, Israel. Yavne is a city build over the Palestinian town of Yibna from which Palestinians were ethnically cleansed in 1948 and to which they have sought their right of return since 1948, only to be denied by racist Israeli policies.

That Contact would even consider signing an agreement with an Israeli company in light of Palestinian calls for BDS (Boycott Divestment and Sanctions) against Israel and particularly after 13 months of genocide where most of the 43,000 confirmed victims have been women and children – is an outrage which makes a mockery of your carefully-crafted corporate story which claims to be based on “tikanga” and principles of respect for people and the planet.

We urge you to do the right thing today and dismantle your links with Ormat and any associated Israeli companies. Palestinians and Palestinian New Zealanders have the right to demand no less from you.

Please respond without unnecessary delay. 

Ngā mihi.

Nā,

 

John Minto

National Chair PSNA

Posted on

Greenpeace submits against the Regulatory Standards Bill and its far-right fringe ideas

Source: Greenpeace

Greenpeace Aotearoa has today filed its submission opposing the Regulatory Standards Bill and calling for it to be rejected in full.
The Greenpeace submission has pulled no punches, stating:
“Dressed up in the language of freedom and liberty, this Bill promotes a fringe libertarian worldview that individuals and corporations are entitled to harm nature and others, and if restrictions are placed on them, then they should be compensated.”
“This ideology is fundamentally at odds with our nation’s deeply-rooted values of fairness, care, and collective responsibility.”
“At its core, this Bill is an attempt by a far-right politician to create a bill of rights for corporations, at the expense of the rights of New Zealanders, the rights of nature, and the rights of Māori guaranteed to them under Te Tiriti o Waitangi.”
“If enacted, it will, without doubt, erode environmental protection, lead to the extinction of precious native wildlife, and impair the Government’s ability to take action on climate change.”
The Greenpeace Aotearoa submission goes on to warn that the Bill would open the floodgates for corporations to expect taxpayer handouts for any regulation that protects public health and the environment, or tries to manage the cost of living. It gives a series of chilling examples:
  • If rules were strengthened to prevent catastrophic oil spills such as the Deepwater Horizon disaster, the executives at BP oil would expect millions from the taxpayer.
  • Basic protections for our drinking water or lakes and rivers, would see Fonterra making complaints to an unelected regulatory standards board and expecting a public payout.
  • Supermarket giants would expect compensation for any efforts to limit price gouging and bring down grocery prices.
  • Offshore shareholders of multinational forestry companies would expect a payout for any new laws compelling them to prevent further deaths of New Zealand forestry workers.
  • Even the Tobacco industry would expect taxpayer dollars simply for efforts to save New Zealanders' lives and get us to a smoke-free reality.
Posted on

Exercise NZ – International Yoga Day 2025: Yoga’s Timeless Path to Well-being

Source: Exercise NZ

Saturday, June 21st, marks International Yoga Day,  a global celebration of one of the world's oldest and most holistic forms of movement and mindfulness. With origins dating back over 5,000 years in India, yoga has transcended borders and generations to become a powerful global movement with over 300 million people practising worldwide today.

Research-based evidence continues to grow, supporting the notion that yoga benefits all aspects of our overall well-being, including mental, emotional, social, and physical health. Encouragingly, yoga participation in Aotearoa remains steady,  a reflection of its lasting appeal and value. Increasingly, Kiwis are recognising that the true benefits of yoga unfold through consistent, ongoing practice. As one of the most effective, accessible, and sustainable paths to overall well-being, yoga offers long-term rewards for those who embrace it as part of their lifestyle. With different styles and methods of practice, it is a modality that can be incorporated into any life stage or capacity. International Yoga Day is a wonderful starting point and an invitation to make yoga a regular, enriching part of everyday life.

Research consistently promotes the potential health benefits related to the regular practice of yoga, such as improvements in mood, focus, and resilience. A Harvard Medical School article notes that yoga can be as effective as standard exercise in reducing anxiety and depression symptoms, with added benefits to brain function, heart rate variability, and emotional balance. The same review highlights how yoga practice increases thickness in the cerebral cortex and hippocampus, areas of the brain tied to memory and learning. Additionally, further research in Frontiers in Integrative Neuroscience confirms yoga's positive effects on brain structure and function, particularly in areas related to self-awareness and emotional regulation.

Why Yoga Works: Evidence-Based Benefits

Yoga can reduce symptoms of depression and anxiety by up to 40%
Regular practice improves sleep, focus, and heart rate variability
Yoga enhances flexibility, balance, and core strength, reducing the risk of injury
Long-term practice supports emotional regulation and mental clarity
Yoga may increase brain volume in key areas related to cognition and memory

This International Yoga Day, ExerciseNZ and YogaNZ invite you to go beyond a single day of practice and consider how yoga could become a lasting part of your life. Take a moment to pause, breathe deeply, and move with intention. Whether you're stepping into a studio, unrolling your mat at home, or trying yoga for the first time, you're joining a global movement toward greater wellbeing, mindfulness, and inner peace.

Posted on

Pacific – Republic of Nauru becomes first Pacific country to launch digital asset regulator

Source: Republic of Nauru

 

In a landmark move for the Pacific region, the Nauru Parliament on Tuesday June 17 passed legislation to establish a dedicated virtual asset regulatory authority. 

 

The Bill establishes the Command Ridge Virtual Asset Authority (CRVAA), named after the highest point of land in Nauru, as an autonomous regulator overseeing virtual assets, digital banking, and Web3 innovation. 

 

It will provide a licencing scheme that will allow virtual asset service providers (VASPs) to register and offer their services using Nauru as a base.

 

Nauru President David Adeang said the regulation would pave the way for Nauru to be a digital asset leader in the region and is another step towards strengthening financial integrity, investing in future generations, and forging new pathways for resilience.

 

He pointed out that Nauru is one of the Pacific’s most at-risk nations, acknowledged under the United Nations Multidimensional Vulnerability Index (MVI), for its heightened exposure to economic and environmental shocks, and that the Government needed to embrace innovation. 

 

“This bold step aims to harness the potential of virtual assets to diversify revenue streams and fortify economic resilience,” he said.

 

“By implementing robust oversight of VASPs, Nauru aims to foster sustainable growth, channel new financial inflows into strategic instruments such as its Intergenerational Trust Fund, and reduce its reliance on climate financing, which is often challenging to secure.”

 

The President said Nauru aspires to secure a more sustainable and self-reliant economic future.

 

“We want to be a government of solutions and innovation, be proactive not passive, and positively approach the future with boldness,” he said.

 

Minister for Commerce and Foreign Investment Maverick Eoe told Parliament that more countries are recognising the potential of virtual assets from blockchain technologies to decentralised finance.

 

“This Bill proposes to introduce a framework that will put Nauru on par with other countries leading in the development of their digital economies and generating revenue from such developments,” he said. 

 

“The licensing framework….ensures Nauru becomes a competitor, attracting businesses that bring investment, job creation, and financial innovation,” he said.

 

“By regulating VASPs, token issuance, and secure digital transactions, we can position Nauru as a hub for these types of innovation and development within this part of the world.

 

He said the legislation is a commitment to the future prosperity of the country and a statement that Nauru does not fear the digital transformation, but embraces it and leads within the Pacific region. 

 

CRVAA will be tasked with ensuring cybersecurity standards, monitoring financial transactions and enforcing compliance with international anti-money laundering and financial transparency protocols.

 

The Bill, which provides unmatched legal certainty for the token-issuer, introduces a groundbreaking token classification system that provides long-awaited clarity for the global crypto industry, stating that:

 

  • Cryptocurrencies are presumed commodities, not securities;
  • Utility and payment tokens are excluded from investment contract status;
  • Governance and reward tokens are protected from misclassification

 

The Nauru law defines the activities subject to CRA authorisation as follows:

 

  • Operation of centralised or decentralised virtual asset platforms
  • Exchange services between virtual assets and/or fiat currencies
  • Custodial and non-custodial virtual asset wallet services
  • Issuance of virtual tokens, including ICOs, STOs, and NFTs
  • Lending, staking, yield farming, and decentralised finance (DeFi) services
  • Stablecoin issuance and cross-border payment solutions
  • Operation of digital banks and digital payment platforms
  • Issuance and management of E-money.
Posted on

Amnesty International – Urgent need to protect civilians amid unprecedented escalation in hostilities between Israel and Iran

Source: Amnesty International
As more and more civilians bear the cruel toll of the terrifying military escalation in Iran and Israel since 13 June 2025, and amid threats of further escalation in the conflict, Amnesty International is urging the Israeli and Iranian authorities to abide by their obligations under international humanitarian law to protect civilians.
On 16 June, an Iranian government spokesperson reported that Israeli attacks had killed at least 224 people, including 74 women and children, without specifying how many of them were civilians. The health ministry also stated 1,800 people have been injured.
In Israel, the Israeli Military Home Front reported that Iranian attacks had killed at least 24 people, including women and children, stating that they were all civilians, with nearly 600 injured.
“As the number of deaths and injuries continue to rise, Amnesty International is urging both parties to comply with their obligations and ensure that civilians in both countries do not further pay the price of reckless military action,” said Agnès Callamard, Secretary General of Amnesty International.
“Further escalation of these hostilities risks unleashing devastating and far-reaching consequences for civilians across the region and beyond.
“Statements by the US and the G7 so far have failed to recognise the catastrophic impact this escalation will have on civilians in both countries.
“Instead of cheering on one party to the conflict over another as if civilian suffering is a mere sideshow, states must ensure the protection of civilians. Preventing further suffering must be the priority – not the pursuit of military or geopolitical goals.
“Both Israeli and Iranian authorities have time and again demonstrated their utter disregard for international human rights and humanitarian law, committing grave international crimes with impunity.
“The world must not allow Israel to use this military escalation to divert attention away from its ongoing genocide against Palestinians in the occupied Gaza Strip, its illegal occupation of the whole Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT) and its system of apartheid against Palestinians.
“Likewise, the international community must not ignore the suffering that decades of crimes under international law by the Iranian authorities have inflicted upon people inside Iran, that is now being compounded by relentless bombardment.”
Under international humanitarian law, all parties must take all feasible precautions to spare civilians and minimize their suffering and casualties. International humanitarian law strictly prohibits attacks directed at civilians and civilian objects, as well as attacks which do not distinguish between military targets and civilians or civilian infrastructure.
For this reason, weapons that are extremely inaccurate and have large warheads that produce large area effects, such as ballistic missiles, should never be used in areas with large populations of civilians. Attacks on military objectives that are likely to result in disproportionate civilian casualties or destruction of civilian objects are also prohibited.
In the deadliest incident in Israel, eight people including three children, were killed in Bat Yam, south of Tel Aviv, on 15 June.
In Iran, at least 12 people including children and a pregnant woman were killed in one attack in Tajrish square in Tehran on 15 June.
In the shadow of this latest escalation, Israeli authorities continue to forcibly displace and starve Palestinians in the occupied Gaza Strip as part of their ongoing genocide. They have imposed a full closure on the West Bank, where state-backed settler violence continues to rise, further entrenching Israel’s illegal occupation and apartheid system.
Meanwhile, Iranian authorities have responded to Israel’s latest military attacks by imposing internet restrictions, arresting journalists and dissidents within the country. They have also restricted prisoners’ communication with the outside world, including those in prisons near sites of the bombings. On 16 June, the Iranian authorities executed a man for alleged espionage for Israel, raising concerns about the fate of others on death row for similar charges. The Iranian authorities must release all human rights defenders and others arbitrarily detained and should relocate other prisoners away from locations at risk of being attacked by Israel.
Sinister and fear-inducing ‘ warnings’
Over the past three days, Israeli officials, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Minister of Defence Israel Katz, and Persian-language spokesperson of the Israeli army Kamal Pinchasi have issued alarming threats and overly broad, ineffective evacuation warnings to millions of civilians in Tehran a major city with a population of around 10 million people, located in Tehran province which is home to around 19 million people. In some cases, warnings were issued in the middle of the night when residents were asleep or did not clarify if they referred to the city or the province of Tehran.
On 16 June, Israel Katz, Israel’s Minister of Defense threatened on X that “the residents of Tehran will be forced to pay the price” for the actions of the Iranian authorities. Hours later, the Israeli military’s Persian-language spokesperson warned civilians to evacuate Tehran’s District Three – an area of approximately 30 square km and home to over 350,000 people- via a video showing unclear danger zones. The video included a map indicating danger zones for civilians but did not clearly specify targeted locations or areas of blast and fragmentation hazard, leaving residents uncertain about which areas to avoid. Iranian civil society activists later republished the map with cleared boundaries and locations named.
Prior to the “evacuation” warnings on 16 June, the Israeli army had issued another overly broad warning in Persian, instructing people across the country to “immediately leave areas … [housing] military weapons manufacturing facilities and their support institutions”. The statement sowed panic and confusion among people, as the locations of military facilities are not known to the general public, and no clear guidance was provided on where civilians should or should not go to ensure their safety.
Evacuation warnings, even if detailed and effective, do not release Israel from its other obligations under international humanitarian law. They must not treat as open-fire zones areas for which they have issued warnings. Millions of people in Tehran cannot leave, either because they have no alternative residences outside the city or due to limited mobility, disability, blocked roads, fuel shortages or other constraints. Israel has an obligation to take all feasible precautions to minimize harm to these civilians.
Early morning Tehran time on 17 June, US President Donald Trump caused further panic with a Truth Social post stating: “Everyone should immediately evacuate Tehran.” US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and the White House amplified the message on X, amid media reports that the United States may join Israel in striking Iran.
In reaction to the Israeli warnings, Iranian state media reported on 15 June that the Iranian armed forces had issued warnings urging residents of Tel Aviv to evacuate. In a video aired on state media, Reza Sayed, spokesperson of the Communication Center of the General Staff of the Armed Forces stated: “Leave the occupied territories [referring to Israel and the OPT], as they will undoubtedly become uninhabitable for you in the future … Do not allow the criminal regime to use you as human shields. Avoid residing or moving near the aforementioned locations and know that even underground shelters will not provide you with safety.”
In Israel, these Iranian warnings have not triggered the same level of chaos and mass evacuation, largely due to the presence of the Iron Dome defense system and available shelters. However, there have been cases where civilians, particularly Palestinian citizens of Israel and Bedouin communities, who do not have access to underground shelters, such as the Khatib family in the Palestinian town of Tamra, were killed as a result of an Iranian missile strike. Israeli civil society groups are calling on the government to urgently address the chronic lack of protected space for non-Jewish Israeli citizens
Parties to armed conflicts are prohibited from issuing threats of violence which are designed to spread terror among the civilian population. They cannot hide behind overly general warnings to claim that they have met their obligations under international law. To constitute effective warnings under international humanitarian law, parties must provide civilians with clear and practical instructions on moving away from military objectives that will be targeted rather than unlawfully calling for the mass exodus of millions – an approach that appears designed more to incite panic and terror among civilians than to ensure their protection.
Internet shutdowns and media censorship
In Iran, the authorities have disrupted access to the Internet and instant messaging applications, preventing millions of people caught up in the conflict from accessing essential information and communicating with loved ones both inside and outside the country and thereby exacerbating their suffering.
“Access to the Internet is essential to protect human rights, especially in times of armed conflict where communications blackouts would prevent people from finding safe routes, accessing life-saving resources, and staying informed. The Iranian authorities must immediately ensure full restoration of internet and communication services in all of Iran,” said Agnès Callamard.
The Israeli authorities are also using vague security pretexts to target people over social media posts or sharing videos deemed to breach strict censorship rules.
“Israeli authorities must refrain from using military escalations, as they have done in the past, as a further pretext to crack down on freedom of expression, disproportionately targeting Palestinian citizens of Israel, including through arbitrary detention over unsubstantiated allegations of incitement,” said Agnès Callamard.
Background
On 13 June 2025, Israeli authorities launched air and drone strikes against Iranian territory. Shortly afterwards, Israeli officials announced that they launched the operation to target Iranian nuclear and ballistic missile capabilities and decapitate Iran’s military leadership. The Israeli strikes began as Iran and the US were in the process of negotiating a new deal to limit Iran’s nuclear program and enrichment activities in exchange for sanctions relief.
Iranian authorities have retaliated by launching hundreds of missiles and drones against Israeli territory.
Israeli attacks have struck cities in multiple provinces across Iran, including the provinces of Alborz, East Azerbaijan, Esfahan, Fars, Kermanshah, Hamedan, Lorestan, Ilam, Markazi, Qom, Tehran, West Azerbaijan and Khorasan Razavi.
Iranian attacks have struck several urban areas in Israel, such as Tel Aviv, Bat Yam, Tamra, Petah Tikva, Bnei Brak, Haifa, Herzliya.