South Africa faces mounting furor over Iran role in naval drills

South Africa’s government is facing mounting pressure to explain Iran’s participation in naval drills off the coast of Cape Town, a move that has further soured Pretoria’s already fractious ties with the US.

A board of inquiry is due to begin its probe this week into whether the military ignored President Cyril Ramaphosa’s instructions on what role Iran should play in the exercises, or if they had been miscommunicated. Should it be determined that there had been insubordination, senior officers stand to lose their posts.

“The board of inquiry’s report and findings will definitely be made public as this issue is most definitely in the public interest,” Siphiwe Dlamini, a spokesman for the South African National Defence Force, said by phone on Monday. “We will be meeting later today to determine arrangements for the board of inquiry, such as when it will start.”

The scrutiny follows a sharp escalation in US criticism of South Africa after the naval drills involving China, Russia and other BRICS nations. The US House Committee on Foreign Affairs accused Pretoria of undermining US national security and showing it the “middle finger,” soon after its embassy condemned South Africa for allowing Iran to take part in the exercises off Cape Town’s coast. The backlash coincided with a deadly crackdown on mass protests in Iran, with Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei acknowledging a death toll of several thousand.

The admonition was the latest in a string of criticism from the US since President Donald Trump returned to the White House a year ago, with Pretoria also facing rebukes over its Black economic empowerment policies and for filing a case at an international court accusing Israel of genocide during its war against Hamas in Gaza.

South African media reported that Iran had been downgraded to observer status for the exercises, though Iranian vessels nonetheless docked at the Simon’s Town naval base and were seen in nearby waters where the drills were held.

It remains unclear exactly what had transpired, Helmoed Heitman, an independent defense analyst, said.

“Knowing the South African general staff as I do, I find it very difficult to believe that they laughed off an order from the president,” he said. “The issue is what did the president order them to do? Did he tell them to dis-invite Iran? Or did he tell them make the Iranian participation less visible? And then, if the Iranian’s were dis-invited, did Iran with the backing of China refuse to leave? Hopefully the board of inquiry will answer those questions.”

The Democratic Alliance, South Africa’s second-biggest political party and a member of the country’s 10-party ruling alliance, called on parliament to convene an urgent debate into the matter, saying the legislature couldn’t wait for the defense ministry panel to complete its work.

“Who gave the final approval? Whose instructions were followed? And why did senior SANDF leadership appear to act in defiance of a presidential directive?” said Chris Hattingh, the DA’s defense spokesman. “If this reflects a wider culture of insubordination at senior command level, including the chief of the SANDF and the chief of the Navy, it must be confronted now. The SANDF cannot be allowed to operate with parallel lines of authority.”

© 2026 Bloomberg

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