Iran hosts South Africa military chief, eyes stronger defense ties
Iran is seeking closer relations with South Africa as part of its African outreach efforts, though trade and defense ties between the two countries are not particularly strong.
Iran hosted South Africa’s top military commander on Tuesday for a visit aimed at boosting overall defense ties, amid warming relations between the countries despite scrutiny from Washington.
What happened: Gen. Rudzani Maphwanya, chief of South Africa’s National Defense Force, met the commander of the Iranian army, Maj. Gen. Amir Hatami, in Tehran. During the meeting, Hatami said that South Africa has a “special position” in Iran’s outreach to African countries and endorsed boosting “joint military cooperation” between the two countries. He additionally praised South Africa’s case against Israel at the International Court of Justice, the state-run Press TV reported.
South Africa brought a case before the UN court in late 2023, arguing that Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza breached the UN’s Genocide Convention. Israel has denied the accusation, and the court has yet to rule definitively on the matter.
For his part, Maphwanya said that South Africa and Iran share “common goals” and condemned Israel’s actions in Gaza, according to Press TV.
