South Africa: Motshekga Orders Inquiry Into Why Ramaphosa's Orders to Withdraw Iranian Warships From Exercise Weren't Obeyed

16 January 2026
Daily Maverick (Johannesburg)
By Peter Fabricius

Defence minister said the president's orders were 'clearly communicated to all parties'.

Defence Minister Angie Motshekga has ordered a board of inquiry to establish why President Cyril Ramaphosa's instructions to the SA National Defence Force (SANDF) to withdraw Iran from the multinational naval exercise in False Bay this week were not obeyed.

Ramaphosa's instructions were clearly conveyed and the board of inquiry should "establish whether the instruction of the president may have been misrepresented and/or ignored as issued to all", Motshekga said in a statement on Friday, 16 January 2026.

Her statement followed a week of deafening silence from her and the SANDF about why three Iranian warships were still taking part in Exercise Will for Peace, despite a decision by the government last weekend that they should withdraw.

According to government sources, Ramaphosa ordered Iran's withdrawal because of concerns that conducting a joint military exercise with that country could further aggravate relations with the US at a sensitive time when legislation to renew the African Growth and Opportunity Act was being debated in Congress - and at a time when Tehran was brutally cracking down on protests.

"Following a series of reports containing serious allegations concerning the president's clear instruction on how Exercise Will for Peace 2026 should be conducted, in...

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