By Enyichukwu Enemanna
Authorities in South Africa have launched launched a probe into Iran’s participation in the BRICS+ naval exercises which took place near Cape Town this week, following reports that President Cyril Ramaphosa had asked Iran to withdraw to avoid incurring United States’ wrath.
There has been confusion in recent weeks over Iran’s role in the drills, which also included Russia and China.
A source told Reuters that there were three Iranian ships in the False Bay area every day with the other vessels, but the defence ministry has not clarified what they were positioned there for.
South African news outlets Daily Maverick and News24 reported that Ramaphosa had ordered Iran to be withdrawn from the exercises due to concerns about the damage its participation could do to South Africa’s shaky relationship with Washington.
The probe will seek to determine whether Ramaphosa’s instructions were misrepresented and/or ignored, the defence ministry said in a statement on Friday.
Defence Minister Angie Motshekga told newsmen it was untrue that the defence force had defied presidential orders, but did not disclose further details.
The exercises came at a particularly sensitive time as U.S. lawmakers were considering whether to extend the African Growth and Opportunity Act, a preferential trade programme for some African countries.
The U.S. House of Representatives passed the bill on Monday, though there is still a possibility that South Africa could be excluded from the programme.
The U.S. Embassy in South Africa posted on social media on Thursday that it had noted with “concern and alarm” the reports about Iran’s participation in the exercises.
U.S. President Donald Trump has been threatening to intervene in Iran if a deadly crackdown on mass protests, which appear to be abating, continues.
BRICS+ is an expansion of a geopolitical bloc originally comprising Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa – and seen by members as a counterweight to U.S. and Western economic dominance.
It now includes several other countries including Iran, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates.
The exercises were described by South Africa as an operation to “ensure the safety of shipping and maritime economic activities”.
