The South African Friends of Israel (SAFI) has raised urgent concerns over the ANC government’s reckless foreign policy decisions, warning that the ruling party’s alignment with authoritarian allies such as Russia, China, and particularly Iran, has left South Africans exposed to devastating economic and social consequences.
The warning comes as South Africa faces the threat of losing critical trade benefits, such as the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), amid punitive measures from the United States. Analysts have already cautioned that up to 100,000 jobs could be lost in the agriculture and automotive sectors, placing further strain on an economy already battling a 32.9% unemployment rate and near-stagnant growth.
“Iran’s influence on the ANC is deeply troubling. Just as Bosasa and the Guptas once captured the state domestically, Iran has quietly managed to capture South Africa’s foreign policy,” said Bafana Modise, National Spokesperson for SAFI. “Ordinary South Africans did not vote to have their livelihoods jeopardised in order to serve Tehran’s agenda. Yet our country is being used as a pawn in a geopolitical struggle that has nothing to do with the needs of our people.”
Modise further criticised government priorities, contrasting foreign policy adventurism with failures in service delivery at home: “Families are enduring water outages in Johannesburg, mass shootings on the Cape Flats, and unaffordable electricity price hikes, while the ANC chases friendships with regimes that sponsor terrorism. South Africans deserve safe streets, reliable water, affordable electricity, and jobs – not shallow speeches and reckless diplomacy that deepen inequality and hardship.”
SAFI has called on government to immediately reconfigure its foreign policy, prioritise domestic stability, and rebuild strained trade relations. “True national interest lies in restoring credibility with global partners, diversifying trade relationships, and putting South Africans first,” Modise concluded.
