{"id":848018,"date":"2026-01-15T22:05:10","date_gmt":"2026-01-15T20:05:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/?p=848018"},"modified":"2026-01-15T22:05:17","modified_gmt":"2026-01-15T20:05:17","slug":"united-states-releases-alarming-statement-about-south-africa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/government\/848018\/united-states-releases-alarming-statement-about-south-africa\/","title":{"rendered":"United States releases alarming statement about South Africa"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The United States Embassy in South Africa has issued a scathing statement about the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) conducting naval exercises with Iran.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This week, the\u00a0SANDF has confirmed<\/a> that Iran\u2019s Corvette Naghdi is actively participating in the sea phase of Exercise Will for Peace 2026.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This multinational maritime drill, which began on 13 January 2026 off Simon\u2019s Town, involves vessels from several nations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The SANDF\u2019s official update, shared late on 13 January 2026, listed the departing vessels from the countries participating in the exercise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These include the UAE Corvette Bani Yas, Russian Corvette Stoikiy, South African Frigate SAS Amatola, Iranian Corvette Naghdi, and the Chinese Destroyer Tangshan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ethiopian, Egyptian, and Indonesian navies are participating as observers in the sea phase of Exercise Will for Peace 2026.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to the SANDF, the exercise focuses on maritime safety, joint readiness, humanitarian cooperation, and shipping security.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Curiously, the SANDF deleted a post<\/a> showing that, contrary to media reports, Iran\u2019s Corvette Naghdi is actively participating in the exercise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Initial reports, stemming from the SABC, indicated that Iran had downgraded its role or withdrawn from active participation due to political pressure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This includes requests from senior South African officials to avoid complicating AGOA renewal talks and broader diplomatic friction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Prominent military analyst Darren Olivier, Director at African Defence Review, highlighted the discrepancy in real-time commentary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He noted the confusion surrounding Iran\u2019s status, stating that one of the Iranian ships \u201cheaded out to sea alongside other warships\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is despite assurances from South African government officials that Iran had been asked to withdraw and had agreed to do so.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The United States raises concerns about Iran\u2019s participation<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

On Thursday, 15 January 2026, the United States Embassy in South Africa released a statement condemning the situation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe United States notes with concern and alarm reports that the Minister of Defence and SANDF defied a government order regarding Iran\u2019s participation in the ongoing naval exercises,\u201d it said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Iran is a destabilising actor and state sponsor of terror, and its inclusion in joint exercises \u2013 in any capacity \u2013 undermines maritime security and regional stability.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It said it was particularly unconscionable that South Africa welcomed Iranian security forces as they were shooting, jailing, and torturing Iranian citizens.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These citizens, it said, were engaging in peaceful political activity that South Africans fought so hard to gain for themselves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSouth Africa can\u2019t lecture the world on \u2018justice\u2019 while cosying up to Iran,\u201d the United States Embassy in South Africa said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It added that permitting Iranian military forces to operate in South African waters, or going to Tehran and expressing solidarity, isn\u2019t \u2018non-alignment\u2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s choosing to stand with a regime that brutally represses its people and engages in terrorism,\u201d the United States said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Statement by South Africa regarding Iran<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

In a brief statement<\/a> on 15 January, the South African Presidency said that the government is following the developments in Iran \u201cwith concern.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe reports of unrest and the subsequent loss of life are concerning, and South Africa urges all parties to exercise maximum restraint,\u201d said the Presidency.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSouth Africa firmly believes that the right to peaceful protest, freedom of expression, and freedom of association are universal human rights that must be upheld without exception.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe therefore call on the Iranian authorities to ensure that citizens exercise their right to protest in peace,\u201d it added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The statement concluded that sustainable peace and stability can only be achieved through solutions that centre the agency of the Iranian people.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The United States Embassy in South Africa has issued a scathing statement about the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) conducting naval exercises with Iran.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":848019,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[1122,24529,24530,24531,24527,24528,10022,24532],"class_list":["post-848018","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-government","tag-iran","tag-iranian-corvette-naghdi","tag-russian-corvette-stoikiy","tag-south-african-frigate-sas-amatola","tag-south-african-national-defence-force-sandf","tag-uae-corvette-bani-yas","tag-united-states","tag-united-states-embassy-in-south-africa"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/848018","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=848018"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/848018\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":848020,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/848018\/revisions\/848020"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/848019"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=848018"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=848018"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=848018"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}