Share FacebookTwitterWhatsAppPinterestLinkedinCopy URLTelegramEmailTumblrReddItPrintKoo CAPE TOWN, Jan 16: South Africa launched an investigation today over the participation of Iranian warships in naval drills off its coast after reports that organisers ignored the president’s instructions that the ships only take up observer status so as not to inflame tensions with the United States. The investigation announced by the Defence Ministry came a day after the US criticised South Africa’s move to host Iranian ships off the coast of Cape Town this week for joint drills that also included the Chinese, Russian and United Arab Emirates navies. In a statement posted on X, the US Embassy in South Africa said it was “unconscionable that South Africa welcomed Iranian security forces as they were shooting, jailing, and torturing Iranian citizens engaging in peaceful political activity” — a reference to the ongoing protests in Iran and a bloody crackdown by authorities that has killed more than 2,600 people, according to the US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency.
