The ANC faces potential US sanctions under new bipartisan legislation. Congressman Ronny Jackson announced this week that the bill, which specifically targets ANC politicians and others involved in corruption or activities that undermine American interests abroad, has passed through the US House Foreign Affairs Committee. A key driver behind the proposed legislation is concern over South Africa’s increasingly close relationship with the Islamic Republic of Iran.
This relationship comes at a serious cost to South Africans. A recent report by the Middle East Africa Research Institute (MEARI) highlights that one of the contributing factors to South Africa’s grey listing is the flow of illicit funds linked to Iran.
Our country’s alignment with Tehran has had other economic repercussions—particularly for MTN, which has significant investments in an Iranian telecom company. As a result of this association, MTN now faces legal challenges in the United States and South Africa, with claims that it obtained its operating licence in Iran through corrupt means and may have facilitated technology transfers to Iranian entities implicated in the deaths of Americans. While MTN denies these allegations, it may soon have to answer to them in court.
One of the most serious accusations is that MTN’s payment for its Iranian licence included not only financial bribes but also the use of South Africa’s foreign policy to shield Iran’s nuclear programme from international scrutiny. The chairman of MTN at the time was President Cyril Ramaphosa. This would not be the first time the ANC has ‘sold’ South African foreign policy for donations—similar patterns have been observed in relations with countries like Nigeria and Indonesia.
This relationship with Iran is puzzling for several reasons. First, while Iran supported the ANC publicly and even materially during the anti-apartheid struggle, it also sold oil to the apartheid regime in exchange for weapons. Second, South Africa gains very little in terms of trade—Iran does not even rank among our top thirty trading partners. Countries such as Zimbabwe, Thailand, and even Israel surpass Iran in terms of volume.
Third, and perhaps most disturbingly, Iran shares none of the values enshrined in South Africa’s constitution. It systematically violates women’s rights, suppresses minorities, executes LGBTQ individuals, rigs elections, and exports terror through proxy groups.
Despite this, the ANC continues to lavish Iran with attention. Tehran receives regular official delegations from South Africa, docks its naval vessels in our ports, has South Africa observers at its military exercises and benefits from South Africa’s diplomatic cover at the United Nations. The ANC lays out the red carpet for Iran’s proxies—such as Hamas, which enjoys direct communication with our Department of International Relations and Cooperation, despite consternation from South Africa’s traditional partners, the Palestinian Liberation Organisation.
To better understand the rationale for this odd alliance—given the lack of shared values, limited economic ties, and Iran’s dubious record—MEARI commissioned a study by independent experts (I am not the author) to explore the underlying drivers of this policy.
If left unchecked, our current foreign policy posture could further damage US–South Africa relations. Our connection to Iran has implications for the 40% US tariffs that might soon be imposed—jeopardising jobs in the automotive sector in the Eastern Cape, agriculture in Limpopo and the Western Cape, and many other industries.
Regrettably, rather than grappling with the real implications of our alignment with authoritarian regimes like Iran, Cuba, Venezuela, Russia, and the Chinese Communist Party, some commentators are reaching for scapegoats. Mondli Makhanya adopted this approach in “The Great Myth of SA’s Intimacy with Iran” in City Press (20 July 2025), where he blamed Israel for the deterioration in South Africa’s relationship with the US.
Yes, Israel is currently waging a bitter war to recover its hostages and defend itself against Iran and its proxies—Hamas, Hezbollah, the Houthis, and others. South Africa, for its part, is acting as another proxy at the International Court of Justice; such behaviour has consequences. But the former editor’s long-standing obsession with Israel should not blind him to the broader consequences of South Africa’s undemocratic foreign policy positions. The costs are already being felt—and it is ordinary South Africans who pay the price.