Why is South Africa upset about Iran joining BRICS naval drills?

South Africa has launched an enquiry into Iran’s information successful associated naval drills with BRICS nations past week, seemingly against the orders of President Cyril Ramaphosa.

BRICS is simply a radical of 10 countries: Brazil, China, Egypt, Ethiopia, India, Indonesia, Iran, Russia, South Africa and the United Arab Emirates. The acronym BRICS represents the archetypal letters of the founding members, Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.

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The group, formed successful 2006, initially focused connected trade, but has since expanded its mandate to see information and taste exchanges.

It concluded a week of associated naval drills successful South African waters connected January 16. The drills person caused contention successful the state and drawn the ire of the United States.

Although South Africa regularly holds drills with Russia and China, the latest maritime grooming comes amid heightened tensions betwixt the US and galore of the group’s members, peculiarly Iran, which until past week was grappling with wide protests astatine location that turned deadly.

Pretoria said the exercise, named Will for Peace 2026, was indispensable for ensuring maritime information and planetary cooperation. The grooming “brings unneurotic navies from BRICS Plus countries for … associated maritime information operations [and] interoperability drills”, a connection from the South African subject noted earlier the exercises.

However, US President Donald Trump’s administration, which has antecedently accused BRICS of being “anti-American” and has threatened its members with tariffs, has powerfully criticised the naval exercises.

Here’s what we cognize astir the workout and wherefore they were controversial:

What were the drills for?

South Africa hosted the BRICS naval exercise, which included warships from participating countries, connected January 9-16.

China led the training, which took spot adjacent the southwestern coastal metropolis of Simon’s Town, which is location to a large South African naval base.

Exercises successful rescue and maritime onslaught operations arsenic good arsenic method exchanges were planned, according to China’s Ministry of National Defence. All BRICS countries were invited.

Captain Nndwakhulu Thomas Thamaha, South Africa’s associated task unit commander, said astatine the opening ceremonial that the cognition was not conscionable a subject workout but a connection of intent by BRICS countries to forge person alliances with each other.

“It is simply a objection of our corporate resoluteness to enactment together,” Thamaha said. “In an progressively analyzable maritime environment, practice specified arsenic this is not an option. It is essential.”

The purpose, helium said, was to “ensure the information of shipping lanes and maritime economical activities”.

South African Deputy Defence Minister Bantu Holomisa told journalists that the drills had been planned earlier the existent tensions betwixt immoderate BRICS members and the US.

While immoderate BRICS countries whitethorn look issues with Washington, Holomisa clarified that they “are not our enemies”.

The Iranian navy vessel Naghdi is seen docked astatine Simon’s Town Harbour adjacent Cape Town, South Africa, connected January 9, 2026 [Nardus Engelbrech/AP]

Who participated and how?

China and Iran deployed destroyer warships to South Africa portion Russia and the United Arab Emirates sent corvettes, traditionally the smallest warships.

South Africa, the big country, dispatched a frigate.

Indonesia, Ethiopia and Brazil joined the exercises arsenic observers.

India, which is the existent seat of the group, chose not to participate, and distanced itself from the warfare games.

“We clarify that the workout successful question was wholly a South African inaugural successful which immoderate BRICS members took part,” India’s ministry of outer affairs said successful a statement. “It was not a regular oregon institutionalised BRICS activity, nor did each BRICS members instrumentality portion successful it. India has not participated successful erstwhile specified activities.” 

Why is South Africa facing US backlash implicit the drills?

The US is aggravated that South Africa allowed Iran to enactment successful the drills astatine a clip erstwhile Tehran was accused of launching a convulsive crackdown connected antigovernment protests that had dispersed crossed the country.

The protests broke retired successful precocious December erstwhile shopkeepers successful Tehran closed up their businesses and demonstrated against the falling worth of the rial and inflation. These protests swelled into a broader situation to Iran’s rulers arsenic thousands of radical took to the streets nationwide to show implicit a fewer weeks.

Security forces successful immoderate areas cracked down connected the crowds, resulting successful the deaths of “several thousands”, according to a connection connected Saturday by Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. While activists said thousands of protesters were killed, the Iranian authorities said this was an exaggeration and claimed constabulary officers and information work members formed a important chunk of those who were killed.

The Iranian authorities besides claimed the US and Israel had equipped and funded “terrorists” to inflame the protests. They said agents affiliated with overseas powers, and not authorities forces, were liable for the deaths of civilians, including protesters.

The wide uprising is 1 of the astir disruptive the state has witnessed since the 1979 Iranian Revolution. Tens of thousands of radical are believed to person been detained.

Before the BRICS drills, the US warned South African President Cyril Ramaphosa that Iran’s information would bespeak severely connected South Africa, according to a study by the Daily Maverick, a South African newspaper.

Ramaphosa subsequently ordered Iran to retreat from the exercises connected January 9, the insubstantial reported.

However, 3 Iranian vessels that had already been deployed to South Africa continued to participate.

In a connection connected January 15, the US embassy successful South Africa accused the South African subject of defying orders from its ain authorities and said it was “cozying up to Iran”.

“It is peculiarly unconscionable that South Africa welcomed Iranian information forces arsenic they were shooting, jailing, and torturing Iranian citizens engaging successful peaceful governmental enactment South Africans fought truthful hard to summation for themselves,” the connection read.

“South Africa can’t lecture the satellite connected ‘justice’ portion cozying up to Iran.”

South African governmental expert Reneva Fourie said Washington was simply sportfishing for reasons to criticise South Africa for bringing a genocide lawsuit against Israel earlier the International Court of Justice for its warfare successful Gaza.

“The US is looking for an introduction point,” she said.

The US “is facing accrued infringement connected state of look and association, ideology and quality rights arsenic good arsenic accrued militarisation. The US should absorption connected its ain dire authorities alternatively of meddling successful the affairs of others.”

Tensions implicit the subject drills are lone the latest constituent of contention betwixt the US and Iran.

During the 12-day warfare betwixt Iran and Israel past year, Washington sided with Israel, and connected June 22, the US bombed 3 atomic sites successful Iran. Initial assessments from US officials noted that each 3 were severely damaged. Iran retaliated by bombing a subject basal successful Qatar wherever American troops are positioned, successful what was mostly seen arsenic a face-saving exercise.

Which different BRICS members person tensions with the US?

Nearly each members of BRICS person problems with the existent US government.

Besides the enactment implicit Iran joining the naval drills, South Africa is besides caught up successful a conflict of narratives with the Trump administration, which alleges without immoderate grounds that the country’s number achromatic colonisation is being subjected to a “genocide“. In 2025, Trump established a refugee programme for achromatic Afrikaners wishing to “flee” to the US.

The US has besides condemned South Africa’s determination to instrumentality Israel to the International Court of Justice successful December 2023.

The US presently levies tariffs connected South African exports of up to 40 percent arsenic a result.

China has been locked successful a tense commercialized warfare with the US for much than a year. After slapping each different with tariffs exceeding 100 percent aboriginal past year, these were suspended pending commercialized talks. But China past restricted exports of its uncommon world metals, which are required for exertion important for defence, and Trump again threatened much tariffs earlier the 2 sides reached an agreement successful precocious October, nether which China agreed to “pause” restrictions connected the export of immoderate metals.

Russia is besides connected Washington’s radar due to the fact that of its warfare successful Ukraine.

Just 3 days earlier the drills began, the US seized a Venezuela-linked Russian lipid tanker successful the North Atlantic owed to its sanctions connected some countries.

On January 3, the US subject abducted Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, from the capital, Caracas. Both present look drugs and weapons charges successful a New York national court. In September, the US began a run of aerial strikes connected Venezuelan boats successful the Caribbean, claiming they were trafficking drugs to the US but providing nary evidence.

India has been deed with 50 percent tariffs connected its exports to the US, partially arsenic punishment for continuing to bargain Russian oil.

This month, the US withdrew from the India-led International Solar Alliance though that was portion of a broader determination to propulsion the US retired of respective planetary bodies.

Harsh V Pant, a geopolitical expert astatine the New Delhi-based Observer Research Foundation deliberation tank, told Al Jazeera that, for India, keeping retired of the naval drills was “about balancing ties with the US”.

Pant added that successful India’s opinion, “war games” were ne'er portion of the BRICS mandate.

While BRICS was founded arsenic an economical bloc, it has widened its mandate to see security.

Leaders and apical diplomats from Brazil, China, Russia, India, Indonesia, South Africa, Egypt, Ethiopia, the United Arab Emirates and Iran conscionable astatine the BRICS acme successful Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, connected July 6, 2025 [Pilar Olivares/Reuters]

What has the effect been successful South Africa?

Ramaphosa’s authorities has besides faced immoderate backlash implicit the drills astatine home.

The Democratic Alliance (DA), a erstwhile absorption enactment that present is portion of the governing conjugation and mostly represents the interests of the achromatic minority, blamed Foreign Minister Ronald Lamola for failing to clasp the Defence Ministry to account.

Lamola is from the African National Congress (ANC) party, which, until 2024, governed South Africa alone.

“By allowing the Department of Defence to proceed unchecked successful these subject exercises, Minister Lamola has efficaciously outsourced South Africa’s overseas argumentation to the whims of the South African National Defence Force (SANDF), exposing the state to superior diplomatic and economical risk,” the DA said successful a connection 2 days aft the exercises started.

“South Africa is present perceived not arsenic a principled non-aligned state, but arsenic a consenting big for subject practice with authoritarian regimes.”

What is the South African authorities saying now?

South African officials person shifted from initially justifying the drills to distancing themselves from the Iran debacle.

Despite archetypal statements from officials that the drills would spell up arsenic planned, Ramaphosa yet appeared to bow to US unit and, connected January 9, ordered that Iran beryllium excluded, section media reported.

Those instructions bash not look to person been followed by the South African Defence Ministry oregon the military, however.

In a connection connected January 16, Defence Minister Angie Motshekga’s bureau said Ramaphosa’s instructions had been “clearly communicated to each parties concerned, agreed upon and adhered to arsenic such”.

The connection went connected to accidental that the curate had established an enquiry committee “to look into the circumstances surrounding the allegations and found whether the acquisition of the President whitethorn person been misrepresented and/or ignored arsenic issued to all”.

A study connected the probe is expected connected Friday.

This is not the archetypal clip South Africa has been criticised for its subject relations with Iran.

In August, its subject chief, General Rudzani Maphwanya, prompted choler from the DA erstwhile helium embarked connected a travel to Tehran and affirmed that South Africa and Iran had “common goals”.

His connection came conscionable weeks aft the Iran-Israel war. He was besides reportedly captious of Israel portion successful Tehran.

Some ANC critics called for Maphwanya’s firing, but helium has remained successful office.