News- Middle East: A recent trip to Iran by South Africa’s army chief, General Rudzani Maphwanya, has sparked controversy after he pledged military and political support to the Islamic Republic and condemned the Israeli regime’s genocide in Gaza.

Maphwanya visited Iran last week to meet with his Iranian counterparts, where he conveyed greetings from South Africa’s president and defense minister.

He also stated that the two countries had common goals and always stood “alongside the oppressed and defenseless people of the world.”

The South African general criticized the Israeli regime over the continued genocide of Palestinians in Gaza and denounced the Zionist military “bombing them while they are standing in line for food.”

Maphwanya underlined the long-standing mutual relations between Tehran and Pretoria and called for deeper ties, particularly with regard to defense cooperation.

Officials in South Africa, however, have opposed the visit, accusing the anti-apartheid freedom fighter of “reckless grandstanding.”

The Democratic Alliance, part of the South African government, called for Gen Maphwanya to be “court-martialled.”

It said his comments had gone “beyond military-to-military discussions and entered the realm of foreign policy.”

The South African government has also distanced itself from these comments.

The defence department labelled them “unfortunate”, while the foreign affairs ministry said they “do not represent the government's official foreign policy stance.”

President Cyril Ramaphosa’s spokesperson, Vincent Magwenya, said the president didn’t know about the trip or sanction it.

“The visit was ill-advised and more so, the expectation is that the general should have been a lot more circumspect with the comments he makes,” Magwenya told reporters during a briefing on Thursday.

In contrast, Defense Minister Angie Motshekga defended the visit, insisting, “There is nothing rogue about it.”

Spokesperson Onicca Kwakwa, speaking on behalf of Motshekga, said that ”The minister did give permission to the SANDF Chief General Rudzani Maphwanya, like she does with all other international trips of the Chief of SANDF.”

The row comes as South Africa navigates tense relations with the US, which objects to the country’s ties with Iran, among other issues.

In an executive order, the US cut aid to the African powerhouse for “reinvigorating” relations with Iran.

Moreover, US President Donald Trump baselessly accused Ramaphosa’s government of persecuting white people and condemned it for bringing a genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ).

South Africa’s President Ramaphosa visited the White House in May to negotiate lower tariff deals.

South Africa also offered to buy US liquefied natural gas and invest $3.3 billion in US industries in exchange for lower tariffs. However, the African nation was slapped with 30 percent tariffs by Trump’s administration in August.

Source: Press TV