Acting Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters has confirmed no Kiwis were hurt following two Iranian missile attacks on US bases in Iraq on Wednesday (NZT).
"It is important to note that the missile attacks did not target Camp Taji and the Government has been informed that all New Zealand personnel are as safe as they can be in these developing circumstances," he said in a statement on Wednesday.
There are 45 Kiwis currently based at Camp Taji. Peters expressed New Zealand's deep concern at the escalation in hostilities.
"The Government is working actively with our partners through military and diplomatic channels, and we continue to keep the security situation under close review, including implications for our personnel," Peters said.
"Now is the time for restraint and de-escalation, and for diplomacy to take over."
His statement comes after US airbase Al Asad in western Iraq was targetted by missiles, as well as a complex in northern Iraq's Erbil. The attacks were launched by Iran.
The Al Asad military complex is used by Iraqi and United States armed forces. It is also often used by UK forces.
Flights have been diverted in the Iranian airspace by Singapore Airlines, saying all flights in and out of Europe are diverted until further notice.
The US Federal Aviation Administration has also prohibited all American civil aircraft from operating over Iraq, Iran, the waters of the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman.
Wednesday's missile attacks follow the US-directed killing of Major General Qassem Soleimani on January 3.
He was the former head of Iran's elite Quds Force and was killed in a targeted airstrike at Baghdad International Airport.
Tensions between the US and Iran spiked in late December after an American contractor was killed in Iraq. US officials blamed Iranian-backed militia Kata'ib Hezbollah for the attack and subsequently carried out military strikes against the militia, killing at least 25 fighters.
That retaliation by the US triggered protests in the streets of Iraq and an attack on the US embassy in Baghdad, which the US blamed on Iranian-backed militia.
The killing of Soleimani was then carried out as a response to that embassy attack.
