As the United States escalates tensions in the Middle East with airstrikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities at Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan, South Africans are urging President Cyril Ramaphosa to remain silent.
Social media platforms are rife with calls for the president to remain silent, fearing that South Africa’s ties with Iran through BRICS and its criticism of Israel could provoke US diplomatic or military backlash.
The US strikes, hailed by President Donald Trump as a “spectacular success,” have heightened global fears of a broader conflict.
South Africa, already reeling from economic fallout after with US, saw its rand and bonds plummet last week as oil prices surged.
Ramaphosa’s recent push for dialogue between Israel and Iran, alongside South Africa’s condemnation of Israeli attacks on Iran’s nuclear sites, has fueled domestic anxiety.
South Africa’s reliance on oil imports through the Strait of Hormuz, now at risk of blockade, could push petrol prices beyond R40 per liter, further weakening the rand.