US Accuses South Africa of ‘Cozying Up’ to Iran Amid Protest Clampdown

The U.S. Embassy said South Africa’s naval drills that included Iran undermine maritime security as Tehran faces global condemnation amid protests.

An Iranian vessel sails in False Bay, near the Simon's Town Naval base for naval exercises in South Africa's waters, in Cape Town, South Africa, on Jan. 16, 2026. Esa Alexander/Reuters

The United States has accused South Africa of undermining regional maritime security by allowing Iranian military participation in naval exercises held in South African waters, escalating tensions between Washington and Pretoria as Iran faces mounting international condemnation over its violent clampdown on nationwide protests.

South Africa’s defense ministry said on Jan. 16 that Minister of Defense and Military Veterans Angie Motshekga had launched an inquiry into Iran’s involvement in the naval exercises, held over the past week in South African waters.

The ministry said the inquiry would determine whether South African President Cyril Ramaphosa’s instructions regarding Iran’s participation were ignored or misrepresented.

In a Jan. 15 statement, the U.S. Embassy in South Africa expressed “concern and alarm” at reports that South Africa’s defense leadership defied a government order related to Iran’s participation in the drills.

Calling Iran a “destabilizing actor and a state sponsor of terror,” the embassy said its participation in the exercises undermines maritime security and regional stability.

“It is particularly unconscionable that South Africa welcomed Iranian security forces as they were shooting, jailing, and torturing Iranian citizens engaging in peaceful political activity South Africans fought so hard to gain for themselves,” the U.S. Embassy said. “South Africa can’t lecture the world on ‘justice’ while cozying up to Iran.”

In a separate statement, the U.S. Embassy rejected Pretoria’s suggestion that hosting Iranian forces accords with South Africa’s non-aligned foreign policy posture.

“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 embassy said.

The diplomatic tensions came as Washington intensified pressure on Iran over the regime’s brutal clampdown on protests, which began in late December over economic woes and a steep plunge in the value of Iran’s currency, but later evolved into a broader challenge to Tehran’s clerical rulers.

Washington Steps Up Pressure on Tehran Amid Protests

Demonstrations have spread to 618 locations across 187 cities and towns over the past 19 days, U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) said in a Jan. 15 statement.

Iran has imposed sweeping internet and communications blackouts as security forces expanded deployments across major cities, sharply restricting the flow of information and complicating independent verification of casualty figures.

HRANA says at least 2,677 people have been killed, including seven children. Other reports have put the death toll higher.

Iranian demonstrators gather in a street during a protest over the collapse of the currency's value, in Tehran, Iran, on Jan. 8, 2026. Stringer/West Asia News Agency via Reuters

At an emergency meeting of the U.N. Security Council held on Jan. 15 at Washington’s request, U.S. Ambassador Mike Waltz said President Donald Trump was prepared to act to stop the bloodshed.

“Colleagues, let me be clear: President Trump is a man of action, not endless talk like we see at the United Nations,” Waltz said. “He has made it clear that all options are on the table to stop the slaughter. And no one should know that better than the leadership of the Iranian regime.”

Iran has denied executing protesters and dismissed higher death toll estimates as part of what it described as a misinformation campaign.

Trump said on Jan. 14 that he had been told the killing was stopping and that no executions were planned, though he acknowledged uncertainty about whether the regime would follow through.

South Africa’s presidency said in a Jan. 15 statement that Iranian authorities should use restraint in dealing with protesters, while expressing support for peaceful demonstrations as well as freedom of association and expression.

“We therefore call on the Iranian authorities to ensure that citizens exercise their right to protest in peace,“ the presidency said. ”Sustainable peace and stability can only be achieved through solutions that center the agency of the Iranian people.”

Reuters contributed to this report.