Eva Modika Stranded in Dubai Amid US–Israel Strikes on Iran; DIRCO Confirms SA Nationals Accounted For as Flights Cancelled

Socialite and TV personality Eva Modika stranded in the Middle East. Following the escalating conflict in the Middle East, socialite and reality TV personality Eva Modika says she is currently stranded in Dubai and has publicly appealed to PresidentCyril Ramaphosaand theDepartment of International Relations and Cooperation(DIRCO) for urgent assistance. Department of International Relations and Cooperation Stability in the region was jolted on Saturday after the United States and Israel launched coordinated combat operations against Iran.

During the strikes, Iran’s Supreme Leader,Ali Khamenei, was killed while reportedly attending a meeting with senior officials in Tehran. US PresidentDonald Trumpand Israeli Prime MinisterBenjamin Netanyahuconfirmed his death, which was later reported by Iranian state media, declaring 40 days of mourning. Iran retaliated with waves of attacks across the Gulf region, including in the Emirati capital Abu Dhabi and near US military bases.

The developments have heightened fears of a broader regional conflict. An incoming projectile explodes over the water in the bay of Haifa off of the northern Israeli coastal city on Saturday, February 28. The United States and Israel launched strikes against Iran on Saturday, in response Iran has retaliated with barrages of missiles at Gulf states and Israel.

[paywall]

On Sunday, DIRCO confirmed it was in communication with South Africans in Gulf nations following the strikes and subsequent retaliatory attacks. DIRCO spokesperson Chrispin Phiri said that, at this stage, no South Africans had reported being in distress. The department’s deputy director-general, Clayson Monyela, added that officials were reviewing evacuation contingencies but faced significant logistical challenges due to widespread airspace closures.

“So far, we have not lost anybody. The South Africans we know of are all accounted for. We are monitoring the situation.

But the challenge is that unfortunately, it is not possible to move people out of those places because there is no means to do that,” Monyela said. This picture obtained from Iran’s ISNA news agency shows the site of a strike on a girls’ school in Minab, in Iran’s southern Hormozgan province, on February 28, 2026. The United States and Israel launched strikes against Iran on February 28, with Israel’s public broadcaster reporting that supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei had been targeted, as the Islamic republic retaliated with barrages of missiles at Gulf states and Israel.

[/paywall]