South Africa stands firm on dual diplomacy maintaining ties with Iran, US

South Africa has called for restraint, diplomacy and respect for international law as the Middle East conflict continues following a joint attack on Iran by the United States and Israel late last month.

Pretoria faces a delicate diplomatic balancing act with Washington as President Donald Trump seeks to rally support for the war. South Africa’s relationship with the United States is already strained over racially-driven domestic policies, unfounded accusations by the Trump administration of the deliberate killing of white farmers, and a genocide case against Israel over its actions against Palestine.

"The US can make life difficult for South Africa in terms of unilateral sanctions. They can impose those in terms of a lack of trade, in terms of increased tariffs that can introduce those. And also in terms of shunning South Africa from the G20, as we have seen more recently," Southern African Liaison Office Senior Researcher Lwazi Somya said in an interview with CGTN. 

Despite mounting pressure, South Africa insists it will not abandon its long-standing relationship with Iran.

According to South Africa Foreign Affairs Director-General Zane Dangor, the country has no reason to cut ties with Iran, though it is not uncritical of the nation.

"The particular relationship with Iran, which is not exactly the kind of relationship that many in the developing world has had does have with Iran. The same with Cuba, the same with Venezuela. We cannot be pulled into the sort of sphere of influence politics that great powers want to pull us into, and that in this instance includes the US," he said.

African countries, already hit by rising oil prices, are hoping for a swift resolution. Prolonged disruption in the Strait of Hormuz is slowing the movement of goods in and out of the Middle East and could further strain African economies grappling with high inflation and debt.