Ramaphosa calls for ‘maximum restraint’ as Middle East crisis worsens

Protesters gather with Iranian national flags during a demonstration in support of the government and against US and Israeli strikes outside a mosque in Tehran on 28 February 2026. Picture: ATTA KENARE / AFP President Cyril Ramaphosa has called on all parties to exercise maximum restraint after the United States and Israel launched strikes against Iran on Saturday, and Iran’s retaliatory missile salvo. US President Donald Trump on Saturday said America began “major combat operations” in Iran after Israel also said it ⁠had launched missile attacks against the country.

The strikes, which Trump said were aimed at destroying Iranian missiles and annihilating its navy, follow repeated US-Israeli warnings that they would strike Iran if it pressed ahead with its nuclear and ballistic missile programmes. Iran retaliated, targeting Israel and US assets in multiple Middle East countries, including Qatar, the UAE, Kuwait, Bahrain, Syria, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and Iraq. The attacks have seen Middle Eastern countries close their airspaces, leaving thousands of travellers, including those travelling to and from South Africa, stranded.

Iran, Iraq, Israel, Syria, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates all announced at least partial closures of their skies in the hours after smoke began rising over Tehran and Iran began retaliatory attacks in the region. Ramaphosa’s spokesperson Vincent Magwenya said the president has expressed “deep concern” regarding the escalation of tensions in the Middle East. “These developments pose a serious threat to regional and international peace and security, with far-reaching humanitarian, diplomatic and economic consequences. “President Ramaphosa calls on all parties to exercise maximum restraint and to act in a manner consistent with international law, international humanitarian law and the principles of the United Nations Charter,” Magwenya said.