Ramaphosa calls for dialogue to end Israel-Iran conflict
Ramaphosa says he had hoped Trump, would use his influence to promote dialogue between the warring nations.
With US President Donald Trump hinting at possible regime change in Tehran, a day after striking Iran's nuclear sites, South Africa said it has 'noted with a great deal of anxiety' the entry of the US into Israel-Iran war.
The Presidency issued a statement on Sunday, just hours after Trump said the country had struck three nuclear sites in Iran on Saturday night.
Trump said the facilities at Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan were 'completely and totally obliterated' and warned of further attacks if Tehran refused to 'make peace'.
'Dialogue'
President Cyril Ramaphosa's spokesperson, Vincent Magwenya, said Ramaphosa has called for dialogue between Israel and Iran, warning that continued conflict will only lead to further devastation and economic fallout across the globe.
'It was South Africa's sincerest hope that President Donald Trump would use his influence and that of the US government to prevail on the parties to pursue a dialogue path in resolving their issues of dispute.
'South Africa calls on the United States, Israel and Iran to give the United Nations the opportunity and space to lead on the peaceful resolution of the matters of dispute, including the inspection and verification of Iran's status of uranium enrichment, as well as its broader nuclear capacity,' Magwenya said.
ALSO READ: US joins Israel-Iran conflict with overnight bombing campaign
Iran response
Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi called the US attack 'unforgivable' and said Iran has 'to respond based on our legitimate right to self-defence'.
Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has promised that the 'punishment will continue' against Israel, in his first statement on social media after the US joined the Israeli attacks on Iran.
US confusion
The White House has repeatedly denied that the conflict was seeking to topple the Iranian government.
On Sunday, Vice President JD Vance maintained the US was 'not at war with Iran, we're at war with Iran's nuclear programme'. Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth told reporters that the 'mission was not, and has not, been about regime change'.
However, hours later, Trump appeared to contradict his top officials.
'It's not politically correct to use the term, 'Regime Change,' but if the current Iranian Regime is unable to MAKE IRAN GREAT AGAIN, why wouldn't there be a Regime change???' Trump wrote on his Truth social media platform.
Radiation
Meanwhile, the UN's International Atomic Energy Agency said it had not detected any increase in radiation levels at key nuclear sites in Iran following the US strikes.
The UN body's head, Rafael Grossi, said the IAEA would hold an 'emergency meeting' at the organisation's headquarters in Vienna on Monday in response to the US strikes.
ALSO READ: 'They never stopped' – Naledi Pandor continues to receive threats
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
TimesLIVE
17 minutes ago
- TimesLIVE
North Korea condemns US strikes on Iran as violation of sovereign rights
North Korea said on Monday it strongly condemns the US strikes against Iranian nuclear facilities as a grave violation of a sovereign state's security interests and territorial rights, the country's state media reported. The US and Israel are the culprits of the tensions in the Middle East born out of Jerusalem's 'ceaseless war moves and territorial expansion accepted and encouraged by the West', North Korea's foreign ministry said. "(North Korea) strongly denounces the attack on Iran by the US which violently trampled down the territorial integrity and security interests of a sovereign state,' an unnamed spokesperson said in a statement carried by KCNA news agency. 'The just international community should raise the voice of unanimous censure and rejection against the US and Israel's confrontational acts,' the statement said. Iran and nuclear-armed North Korea have maintained friendly ties and have been suspected for decades of military cooperation, including in developing ballistic missiles. A now-defunct panel of experts monitoring UN sanctions said in 2021 the two countries had resumed cooperation on long-range missile development projects, including the transfer of critical parts. 'Pyongyang could provide important assistance in helping Iran reconstitute destroyed missile production facilities, including at new sites to avoid scrutiny, perhaps,' said Ankit Panda of the US-based Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Whether either country would be interested in substantively cooperating on efforts to rebuild or accelerate Iran's nuclear weapons programme is less certain, given the political and military sensitivities over such technology, he said. 'There are matters pertaining to weapons design that the North Koreans would not want to proliferate because once in Iran, they could be discovered by the US and potentially assist the US in undermining its deterrent,' Panda said. However, Pyongyang has substantive experience in weaponisation and could be able to assist in the non-fissile components of a nuclear bomb, such as the conventional explosives, he added. North Korea has taken unprecedented steps in the past year to deepen military assistance to Russia, another partner of Iran, by sending thousands of troops and ballistic missiles and other weapons for use in fighting Ukraine, according to US, Ukrainian and other intelligence sources.
The Citizen
an hour ago
- The Citizen
Iran strike: Another fuel crisis looming?
Sharp curbs on exports reminiscent of 1973 may follow. Participants shout slogans during an anti-war demonstration in Boston, Massachusetts, on 22 June 2025, protesting US strikes on Iranian nuclear sites. Picture: Joseph Prezioso / AFP Will the history of just over 50 years ago repeat itself in the form of another Middle East oil boycott or shortage, following the US intervention in the war between Israel and Iran? That's the question consumers – and especially motorists – as well as experts are pondering in the wake of the weekend air strikes by American bombers of Iran's nuclear facilities. In 1973, the Arab-Israeli war saw the Arab-dominated Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries putting in place sharp curbs on exports. This not only forced a massive rise in fuel prices, but saw many countries in the West hit by sudden fuel shortages. Drastic steps taken in SA during fuel shortage In South Africa, the government took drastic steps, including lowering the national speed limit from 120km/h to 80km/h and banning fuel sales after hours and over weekends. The trauma of that fuel shortage led directly to the then National Party government establishing a Strategic Fuel Reserve for the country. ALSO READ: Did the US strikes succeed, and how will Iran respond? Economist Dawie Roodt said SA can expect some more clarity on what exactly to expect in the days to come. 'We will have to wait and see,' he said, adding it might affect petrol prices and inflation rate and weaken the rand. 'This could be quite a thing for South Africa. It just depends on how long it goes on and how serious it is,' he said. Senior political lecturer at North-West University Dr Benjamin Rapanyane said conflicts like this one have a way of disrupting international peace and the flow of trade. 'The worst-case scenario would be the disruptions of shipments in the Strait of Hormuz. This may have a devastating impact on Africa in general and South Africa in particular,' he said. ALSO READ: US joins Israel-Iran conflict with overnight bombing campaign Political analyst Piet Croucamp said it could mean nothing or something. 'Nothing in the sense of let's stay out of it, which is hardly possible given the court case SA has against Israel,' he said. 'There's a universal condemnation of Israel for what they have been doing in Gaza and also the attack on Iran, which is against the United Nations resolutions.' Croucamp said it might be hard for SA to stay out of it. 'So many people around the world are concerned about the consequences of what is being done to Iran, but we are also concerned about Gaza,' he said. 'We dare not shut up. We have to say something. Not from a moral high ground because we cannot afford that, too, but it doesn't mean that we don't get to say something.' ALSO READ: What Israel–Iran conflict means for South African economy Political analyst Roland Henwood said there were no immediate implications. 'Indirectly, it will depend on how the situation develops. Politically, the reaction from SA, Brics and other international organisations and governments will be important to follow,' he said. 'If SA reacts very strongly against America and in favour of Iran, it may have negative political consequences. Other outcomes will include the effects of increased oil prices.' Henwood said this may have short-term or long-term implications for the country. 'So far, the reactions from the rest of the world have been rather muted. We will have to see how this situation develops,' he added.
TimesLIVE
an hour ago
- TimesLIVE
Abrego Garcia ordered released pending trial on migrant smuggling charges
A US judge on Sunday ordered Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the migrant returned to the US earlier this month after being wrongfully deported to his native El Salvador, released on bail pending his criminal trial on migrant smuggling charges. However, the decision by US magistrate judge Barbara Holmes in Nashville, Tennessee does not necessarily mean Abrego, as he prefers to be known, will go home to his family. The judge had acknowledged at a June 13 court hearing that Abrego was likely to be placed in immigration detention even if he is released. Abrego, a Maryland resident whose wife and young child are US citizens, was deported on March 15 to El Salvador, despite a 2019 immigration court ruling that he not be sent there because he could be persecuted by gangs. Officials called his removal an 'administrative error', but for months said they could not bring him back. Critics of US President Donald Trump pointed to Abrego's case as evidence his administration was prioritising increased deportations over due process, the bedrock principle people in the US, whether citizens or not, can contest governmental actions against them in the courts. Trump, who has pledged to crack down on illegal immigration, said Abrego belongs to the MS-13 gang, an accusation his lawyers deny. The justice department brought Abrego back to the US on June 6 after earlier securing an indictment charging him with working with at least five co-conspirators as part of a smuggling ring to bring immigrants to the US illegally. Prosecutors said Abrego, 29, picked up migrants from the US-Mexico border more than 100 times, and transported firearms and drugs. Abrego has pleaded not guilty. His lawyers said the Trump administration brought the charges to cover up their violations of Abrego's rights, and said the alleged co-conspirators cooperating with prosecutors should not be trusted because they are seeking relief from deportation and criminal charges of their own. In her ruling on Sunday, Holmes said the government failed to show Abrego posed a danger to the community or was unlikely to appear in court, scheduling a hearing for Wednesday. In a separate civil case, Greenbelt, Maryland-based US district judge Paula Xinis is investigating whether the Trump administration violated her order to facilitate Abrego's return from El Salvador. The US Supreme Court unanimously upheld the order.
