South Africa cannot claim neutrality at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) while deepening a military alliance with Iran. By entering military co-operation with Tehran, our government steps out of the role of dispassionate petitioner and joins ranks with one of the most implacable US adversaries.
The hypocrisy is glaring: we thunder against Israel while ignoring Iran’s executions, suppression of women and complicity in mass atrocities in Syria and Yemen. South Africans deserve transparency. The ANC should immediately disclose the full scope of its agreements with Iran and explain why our country is aligning with the world’s foremost state sponsor of terror while claiming a human rights mantle.
Standing shoulder to shoulder with a regime that executes dissidents, persecutes minorities and exports terror fatally compromises South Africa’s credibility in The Hague.
In international law, a state bringing a genocide case is expected to act in good faith and with impartiality. This pact collapses that posture. Worse, it slots neatly into Iran’s hybrid warfare doctrine — mixing terrorism, proxy militias and “lawfare” to isolate and weaken Israel. The result is a perception that South Africa’s ICJ case is driven less by facts and universal human rights than by geopolitical allegiance to an anti-Israel bloc. That perception doesn’t just damage our arguments; it risks eroding trust in the court itself.
Daniel Jacobi, executive director of the South African Friends of Israel
By e-mail
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