Deputy Prime Minister David Seymour has described Iran’s regime as “one of the most evil on the planet” as the New Zealand Government works to evacuate stranded citizens from the Middle East.

Speaking in an interview with chrislynchmedia.com, Seymour said officials were attempting to organise flights to help New Zealanders leave the region following escalating conflict.

“There are a number of New Zealanders who are stranded in the region.”

He said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade had advised New Zealanders to shelter in place for now, although some commercial flights had managed to depart.

“Some flights have been getting out, for example out of Dubai International, so it’s possible people will get out on commercial flights,” Seymour said.

“However, the New Zealand government is also attempting to get some flights in to evacuate New Zealanders, and I think that’s the sort of thing a government should be prepared to do at times like this.”

Seymour also pushed back against calls from opposition parties for Parliament to declare the recent strikes against Iran unlawful under international law.

He criticised Labour leader Chris Hipkins and the Greens for focusing on legal declarations instead of practical priorities.

“I’ve looked at a lot of people in the opposition who are obsessed with New Zealand declaring is this legal, is this illegal,” Seymour said.

“The truth is the New Zealand government does not have all of the information.”

He said New Zealand was not in a position to make definitive legal judgments about military actions carried out by other nations.

“If it was a matter of deciding whether something’s legal, normally that should be determined by a court,” Seymour said.

“My question is very simple. Do they know something that no one else in New Zealand knows?”

Instead, Seymour said the government’s priority was protecting New Zealanders overseas, ensuring the safety of Iranian New Zealanders at home, and maintaining trade routes that could be disrupted by the conflict.

He warned tensions in the region could have economic consequences for New Zealand.

“You’ve got New Zealand exporters with their goods and ships stuck on one side of the Strait of Hormuz,” Seymour said.

“You’ve got oil that we need on the other side of the Strait of Hormuz.”

“We need trade to resume so it doesn’t hit New Zealanders again in petrol prices and in the pocket.”

Asked about the possibility of prolonged conflict in the Middle East driving up fuel prices during an election year, Seymour said there were no easy solutions.

“The only thing the government can really do to reduce costs in the short term is borrow money and give it to people,” Seymour said.

“But we know that increases inflation, so you pay for it later.”

While the government has not formally endorsed the United States and Israeli strikes against Iran, Seymour made clear his views about the Iranian leadership.

“This is an evil regime,” Seymour said.

“Nobody will mourn the end of Ayatollah Khamenei, who has got to be one of the most evil guys on the planet, or at least he was until quite recently.”

However, Seymour said the government would not pass judgment on the strikes without knowing the full intelligence behind the decisions taken by the United States and Israel.