Bob Edlin: NZ traders look likely to be hit by flak.....

NZ traders look likely to be hit by flak as Trump plays the tariff card to put Iran’s Ayatollah and his cronies in their place

Uh, oh. It looks like New Zealand traders might become collateral damage as US president Donald Trump’s flexes his muscle against Ayatollah Khamenei, who has been Iran’s supreme leader since 1989, and his theocratic cronies.

Besides threatening to launch military strikes, Trump has said countries that engage in trade with Iran will face a 25 per cent tariff on any business done with the US.

Geoffrey Miller: Joe Biden’s controversial trip to Saudi Arabia could help New Zealand reset its own relationship with the Middle East

Joe Biden’s controversial fist-bump with Mohammed bin Salman (MBS), the Saudi crown prince, may help New Zealand to forge its own new direction in the Middle East.

The US president’s trip to Israel and Saudi Arabia showed that despite real concerns over human rights, the Middle East’s strategic importance in the current global geopolitical jigsaw puzzle cannot be ignored.