President Cyril Ramaphosa has shrugged off parliamentary queries about the participation of the Iranian navy in multinational exercises in South African waters in January.

Iranian vessels joined their Chinese, Russian, Emirati, and South African counterparts in drills under the name of Mosi-III (“Exercise Will for Peace”), drawing international attention to the relationship between South Africa and Iran. It emerged that Ramaphosa had instructed the military to exclude Iran from the exercises, but this was apparently disregarded.

In February, an investigative panel into the matter was announced, reporting directly to the president. It would be headed by Justice Bernard Ngoepe, and its mandate was to investigate the circumstances of the exercise, determine why the president's order was disregarded, and recommend appropriate consequences. The president is constitutionally the commander-in-chief of the military.

The panel was required to report within one month of its establishment, although in compelling circumstances, its term could be extended.

But when asked a series of detailed parliamentary questions about the outcome of the investigation, the president responded tersely: “The president has not received the report of the panel appointed to investigate circumstances surrounding Exercise Will for Peace 2026. The panel is expected to finish its work within six months of its establishment. The president may, on compelling cause shown, extend the period of the panel’s proceedings.”

The six-month window (evidently an extension of the original timeframe) is now within days of expiry.

No further details will be forthcoming. In the original announcement of the probe, it was stated that the president would “decide to publicise or not to publicise all or any portion of the outcomes of the panel’s investigation”.

Democratic Alliance MP Chris Hattingh, who posed the question, said that this was a matter of national importance: “The basic command-and-control facts should have been established within days, not months. Instead, Parliament still does not know who authorised Iran’s participation, why the president’s instruction was allegedly not implemented, or who is accountable.”

He added: “This is no longer merely about a naval exercise. It is about the constitutional principle of civilian control over the military.”

While South Africa’s military has not taken much of a role in civilian politics since the transition to democracy, concerns have been growing about this recently, with the relationship with Iran playing a recurring role. Last year, General Rudzani Maphwanya, Chief of the South African National Defence Force, visited Tehran and expressed (in remarks reported in Iranian media) endorsement of Iranian geopolitical positions, saying that South Africa and Iran stood “alongside the oppressed and defenceless people of the world”. He also reportedly claimed that his presence in Iran carried a “political message” from South Africa’s government.

Ramaphosa and the Department of International Relations and Cooperation criticised his actions, but no sanction was issued.

All of this raises worrying questions about constitutional, civilian control of South Africa’s military.

South Africa’s warm and actively cultivated relations with Iran have been a significant cause of tension with the United States (US), and part of the reason for the deteriorating relationship between Pretoria and Washington. The Iranian government has supported a number of proxy insurgent groups operating against the US and its allies.