Johannesburg, South Africa, January 16, 2026 - 1:07 p.m. (UTC+1) - South Africa's defense minister has ordered an investigation into reports of Iran's participation in naval exercises, apparently against the president's instructions, the ministry announced on Friday.
The investigation follows strong criticism from the United States of last week's exercises, which brought together Chinese, Iranian, Russian and Emirati ships off the coast of Cape Town. Local media reported that President Cyril Ramaphosa had instructed the defense minister to withdraw the three Iranian warships from the exercises, which took place as the Iranian government carried out a deadly crackdown on protesters.
It is unclear to what extent Iran participated, but footage showed at least one Iranian ship at sea. On Tuesday, the Defense Ministry posted a list of participants on social media, which included an Iranian corvette, but that post was later deleted. Defense Minister Angie Motshekga had "clearly communicated" the president's instructions, the Defense Ministry said in a statement that did not specify the nature of the president's order, which was also not confirmed by his office.
A commission of inquiry will examine "whether the president's instructions may have been distorted and/or ignored", he said. The defense forces said China's exercises with BRICS alliance countries were aimed at "ensuring the security of sea lanes and maritime economic activities". On Thursday, the U.S. Embassy criticized Iran's presence, calling it "particularly unacceptable" given the crackdown on protests, which independent observers said left thousands dead.
These exercises brought together countries with major diplomatic differences with the United States, at a time when Pretoria is seeking to improve its relations with Washington, which have been undermined. US President Donald Trump's administration has accused South Africa of pursuing anti-US policies and boycotted the G20 summit it hosted in November, also imposing 30% tariffs.
In August, Ramaphosa's office chastised the defense forces for allowing the country's top officer to visit Iran, where he reportedly called for defense cooperation. The visit was not helpful because South Africa was conducting "a very delicate exercise of resetting diplomatic relations with the United States", a spokesperson said.
