IT WAS during the height of the sanctions campaign against apartheid South Africa that the country under PW Botha reached out to Iran in what became known as the ‘Arms for Oil Deal’:
Initially, Iran under the Shah’s regime had close economic and security ties with South Africa, including significant oil trade, even as the international community increasingly isolated the apartheid regime. However, the 1979 Islamic Revolution in Iran led to a shift, with the new regime cutting ties with South Africa and supporting the anti-apartheid movement.
Despite this, a secret deal involving the exchange of South African military technology for Iranian oil emerged during the Iran-Iraq War, beginning a cloak-and-dagger theme which would play out today, as Pretoria has cosied up to the Mullahs, at the same time as currying favour with the Trump administration.
While DIRCO has issued a hurried statement rebuking public comments made by General Rudzani Maphwanya from Tehran endorsing a war against the West, Minister of Defense Angie Motshekga’s current posture demonstrates the General was there with the full authority of the regime, and President Ramaphosa is no different to PW Botha so far as speaking out of both sides of his mouth is concerned.
The intrigue is not unusual given the public utterances by former foreign affairs Minister Naledi Pandor who as head of the so-called Mandela Foundation, has gone full-blown Ahmadinejad promising funding initiatives to ‘combat Christian Zionism” reminiscent of similar “Pay-for-Slay’ operations by Fatah and Tehran.
Like former Iranian President Ahmadinejad, Pandor believes Zionism is the main obstacle to the expansion of an Islamic State across the planet, and the Palestinian issue provides ample reason for our country to launch a Global Intifada.
A country report released by US State Dept last week paints a dismal picture of our country while a bill before congress seeks to tackle SA for the manner in which it has aligned with Iran, a country with the highest level of capital punishment in the world.