Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi has already visited Kenya, Uganda and Zimbabwe to diversify the country's international relations. Tehran considers South Africa a potential strategic partner and is seeking close ties.
Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi is visiting South Africa on Tuesday as Tehran seeks to deepen its partnerships across the African continent while it is under heavy US economic sanctions.
Since assuming office in 2021, Raisi has pursued a deliberate strategy of strengthening Iran's foreign policy approach.
Raisi visited Kenya, Uganda and Zimbabwe -- which is also under US sanctions -- in July, marking the first visit by an Iranian leader to the Africa continent in over a decade.
In Kenya, he referred to Africa as a "continent of opportunities" -- emphasizing its potential as a market for Iranian products.
"None of us are satisfied with the current volume of trade and the current economic exchange between countries," Raisi said.
Raisi's official visit to Pretoria comes just one week after South African Foreign Minister Naledi Pandor was in Tehran.
The Iranian president was in South Africa in August this year for the South Africa-Iran Joint Commission of Cooperation (JCC) held ahead of the BRICS summit in August.
The BRICS countries -- Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa -- are set to welcome Iran and five other countries to the group in January 2024, a feat many analysts say South Africa was instrumental in realizing.
South Africa and Iran's historical relationship
Ties between the countries date to the apartheid era, when Iran supported South Africa's liberation movements.
Iran was one of the first countries to lift sanctions against South Africa after the country attained Black majority rule in 1994.
The JCC was established in 1995, under which the two nations have signed several bilateral agreements in almost all key areas.
During the JCC meeting held in August in Pretoria, Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said Iran sought to bolster its relations with South Africa for the countries' mutual benefit.
"The Islamic Republic of Iran is fully ready to enhance bilateral relations with South Africa without any restrictions in all areas of mutual interest such as scientific cooperation, new technology enhancement, new technologies exchange as well as culture, tourism, economic, trade and new energy sector," Amir-Abdollahian said.
Iranian exports to Africa in 2022 reached $1.28 billion (€1.2 billion), up from $579 million in 2020, according to the Middle East Institute.
What's in it for South Africa?
In 2023, Iran's trade with African countries is expected to increase to more than $2 billion, according to Iran's Foreign Ministry.
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The growth in some targeted areas has been even greater, with Iran's exports of technical and engineering services to Africa increasing by 700% in 2022.
Iran is also eyeing increased trade with the rest of the African continent, Seyed Hoseini, director of the Islamic Centre for Africa, told DW.
Hoseini said South Africa sought to take advantage of Iran's geographical position for its trade with the other BRICS countries.
"Iran is situated in a very strategic point in the Middle East and South Asia. In that area Iran can facilitate India, Russia to be connected through the north-south corridor," Hoseini said.
"And then it can connect China to the Persian Gulf," Hoseini said, "and, from the Persian Gulf, it can connect to South Africa and connect the rest of the world."
Iran is still on the list of US sanctions and its closeness with South Africa has raised eyebrows, according to several analysts.
South African Foreign Minister Pandor, however, said the countries had common positions on global issues.
"Our intention both as South Africa and the Islamic Republic of Iran has been to encourage a world that is at peace with itself," Pandor said during a recent meeting with her Iranian counterparts.
Edited by: Keith Walker
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