Overview

• Chief of the South African National Defence Force, Gen. Rudzani Maphwanya, met Iranian commanders Maj. Gen. Amir Hatami and Maj. Gen. Abdolrahim Mousavi in Tehran on August 12–13.
• Iran’s military leadership hailed South Africa’s ICJ case against Israel as courageous and aligned legal action with a shared anti-colonial agenda.
• The Iranian side offered to share IRGC and other military expertise and expressed hope for concrete joint projects to strengthen defense ties.
• Major General Mousavi warned the United States and Israel of harsher retaliation in response to any future aggression against Iran.
• South Africa’s Department of International Relations and Cooperation issued a statement distancing official government policy from the general’s operational comments, leaving any formal defense agreement in limbo.