Three Iranian navy ships remain in False Bay — and one participated in exercise Will for Peace, according to the SANDF. The SA National Defence Force (SANDF) appears to have defied orders from President Ramaphosa to withdraw three Iranian warships from the multinational naval exercise Will for Peace taking place in False Bay this week. But there has been considerable confusion about Iran’s involvement, and the Democratic Alliance (DA) and members of the public are demanding clarity.
The Presidency decided at the weekend that Iran should withdraw its three warships from the exercise, according to sources. Ramaphosa was clearly concerned about the damage Iran’s participation could do to South African relations with the United States, at a time when the African Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa) was making its way through Congress, and while negative US and international attention on Iran was unusually high because of widespread protests against the government, and the government’s lethal response. A senior South African official told Daily Maverick on Monday that the defence ministries of all the countries taking part in exercise Will for Peace – notably including the Iranian defence ministry – had agreed that Iran would withdraw from the key sea phase of the exercise, which had been about to begin on Tuesday.
Yet on Tuesday, the three Iranian navy ships, which arrived last week, were still in False Bay. The Iranian corvette IRIS Naghdi appeared to have sailed out to sea with warships of the other participating countries – South Africa, China, Russia and the United Arab Emirates – to take part in the exercise. The SANDF posted a statement on its Facebook page on Tuesday, saying naval vessels had left Simon’s Town for the sea phase of the exercise.
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“The four naval vessels forming part of the exercise consist of the United Arab Emirates corvette, Bani Yas, Russian corvette, Stoikiy, South African frigate, SAS Amatola, Iranian corvette, Naghi and Chinese destroyer, Tangshan,” the SANDF said, counting four ships, but actually listing five. It added: “Other participants such as the Ethiopian, Egyptian and Indonesian [navies] will serve as observers during the course of the exercise.” Mysteriously, this notice was later deleted from the SANDF’s Facebook page.
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