Iran’s participation in South Africa-hosted naval drills sparks protest from Washington

The U.S. is accusing South Africa of “cozying up” to Tehran by allowing Iranian warships to participate in the multi-national naval exercise it hosted over the past week.

Exercise Will for Peace 2026 took place in South African waters as the Iranian government continued its brutal crackdown on protests sweeping its country.

The U.S. Embassy in Pretoria said the South African National Defense Force and Defense Minister Angie Motshekga defied orders from their government for Iran to withdraw from the BRICS naval exercise due to U.S. pressure.

“Iran is a destabilizing actor and state sponsor of terror, and its inclusion in joint exercises — in any capacity — undermines maritime security and regional stability,” the embassy said Thursday in a statement. “It is particularly unconscionable that South Africa welcomes Iranian security forces as they were shooting, jailing, and torturing Iranian citizens engaging in peaceful political activity.”

In a statement released Friday, the South African defense ministry said instructions about Iran not taking part in the naval maneuvers were “clearly communicated to all parties concerned and agreed upon.”

“Due to the seriousness of these allegations and reports in the media, [Ms. Motshekgo] has established a board of inquiry to look into the circumstances surrounding the allegations and establish whether the instruction of [South African President Cyril Ramaphosa] may have been misrepresented and/or ignored as issued to all,” the statement said.

The countries taking part in the naval drills were all members of BRICS, the informal bloc of emerging economies that was created to offer an alternative to institutions led by the U.S. and other Western powers. Iran joined the group in January 2024.

“Permitting Iranian military forces to operate in South African waters — or going to Tehran and expressing solidarity — isn’t ‘non-alignment.’ It’s choosing to stand with a regime that brutally represses its people and engages in terrorism,” the U.S. Embassy said on X. “South Africans fought so hard to gain for themselves. South Africa can’t lecture the world on ‘justice’ while cozying up to Iran.”