Iran Remains in South African Waters as SANDF Falls Silent on Naval Drills

The continued presence of Iranian ships follows days of confusion, contradiction, and now silence from the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) and the Department of Defence over Iran’s role in the exercise, which is being hosted out of Simonstown and which also involves South Africa, China, Russia, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

On Monday, the SANDF published a social media post outlining the vessels participating in the sea phase of the exercise. The post listed five ships, including the Iranian corvette Naghdi, alongside vessels from South Africa, Russia, China, and the UAE. The post explicitly presented the Iranian ship as an active participant.

That post was subsequently deleted without explanation.

At the same time, a journalist from the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) posted on X that Iran was not participating in the naval drills. No official clarification was issued to reconcile that claim with the SANDF’s own deleted communication.

Observers later noted that while the Iranian vessel Naghdi appeared to leave Simonstown with the other ships, it remained within False Bay. As of Tuesday morning, three Iranian naval vessels were still present in South African waters. The SANDF has neither clarified whether these vessels are participating, observing, or have withdrawn, nor who authorised any change in their status.

The lack of clarity has been compounded by the cancellation of scheduled media briefings. A briefing planned for Saturday was postponed to Sunday and then cancelled entirely. No briefing has since been held, and only a limited number of media outlets were initially invited.

In a statement released today, Democratic Alliance (DA) MP and defence spokesperson Chris Hattingh said South Africans were entitled to clear answers about the role of foreign warships in Exercise Will for Peace 2026 and warned that the level of secrecy was unacceptable given that the exercise involves sanctioned states and carries diplomatic and economic risks.

“This matters because the SANDF communication explicitly presented the Naghdi as an active participant, yet the public was simultaneously told that Iran was not participating,” Hattingh said. He added that the contradiction has never been explained and called on the Minister of Defence, Angie Motshekga, to urgently brief Parliament and the public.

Hattingh said South Africans deserve to know who approved the invitations, what legal advice was considered, why official communications were contradictory and removed, and why transparency around the exercise has been abandoned.

The Common Sense contacted the Department of Defence and the SANDF repeatedly for comment. Those attempts were unsuccessful. In a brief phone call on Tuesday, Department of Defence spokesperson Onicca Kwakwa said she would put The Common Sense in contact with the official handling communication on the ongoing exercise, explaining that she was not the person responsible for providing updates on it. No follow-up contact was provided, and subsequent calls were not answered.

The absence of any official explanation has left the SANDF’s deleted communication as the clearest public record indicating Iranian participation in the exercise.

The episode has intensified scrutiny of the SANDF’s conduct more broadly, following earlier controversies involving the force’s senior leadership.

In August last year, the head of the SANDF, General Rudzani Maphwanya, travelled to the Iranian capital, Tehran, on an official visit that triggered public disagreement between the Department of Defence and the Presidency over who had authorised the trip. The DA described the visit as unsanctioned political engagement outside the military’s constitutional mandate, while Defence Minister Angie Motshekga said she had approved it and the Presidency indicated that President Cyril Ramaphosa had not.

Exercise Will for Peace 2026 was announced as a week-long multinational naval drill. While South Africa has framed the exercise as routine and defensive, Iran’s involvement has drawn heightened scrutiny given Tehran’s international isolation and sanctions regime.

At the time of publication, neither the SANDF nor the Department of Defence has issued a public statement clarifying Iran’s status in the exercise or explaining the removal of the SANDF’s earlier post.