The US has accused South Africa’s defense ministry of refusing to follow orders from its own government to send home Iranian warships conducting naval exercises in the African country’s waters.
“South Africa cannot lecture the world about ‘justice’ while cozying up to Iran,” it said in a statement.
In response, South Africa’s defense ministry said it had launched an inquiry to get to the root of these “serious allegations”.
Washington criticized South Africa for inviting Iran at a time when a brutal crackdown on protests happened in the Middle East country.
It said South Africa’s military actions did not amount to “non-alignment” but a “choice to stand with Iran”.
“This is not surprising. The protests against the Iranian regime are happening today, human rights organizations here in SA are calling for support for the protesters,” William Gumede, an associate professor at the University of Witwatersrand, told the BBC.
“These are all democratic violations and human rights abuses and we do not hear a whisper from the ANC. That is irony and hypocrisy, it is criticized by other regimes but it is silent on what is happening in Iran.”
on the strongly worded statement Posted on its social media accounts, the US embassy in South Africa said it was “concerned and alarmed” by reports that the country’s defense minister and its defense forces defied government orders to ask Iran to leave.
The US embassy said Iran’s involvement “undermines maritime security and regional stability” and is “imprudent” because it suppresses protests at home, comparing them to “the peaceful political movement that South Africans have fought so hard to secure for themselves”.
On Friday Defense Minister Angie Motshekga’s office said she “wants to put it on record” that President Cyril Ramaphosa’s instructions were “clearly communicated to all parties concerned, agreed and implemented and followed accordingly”.
Dubbed “Peace Resolve”, the week-long naval drill began on Friday. It is led by China – and involves other members from an alliance of major developing countries, including Russia, which when it was launched in 2006 was known as Bric.
It takes its acronym from its founding members Brazil, Russia, India and China – and when South Africa joined four years ago an “s” was added to its name.
With the recent addition of Egypt, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Iran and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) the alliance is now called Brics + – and its purpose is to challenge the political and economic power of the richest Western countries.
The Iranian warships had arrived in Cape Town when the order to turn them back was reported.
Additional reporting by Mayeni Jones