TEHRAN – South African National Defence Force (SANDF) chief General Rudzani Maphwanya met senior Iranian military officials in Tehran this week, discussing plans for closer cooperation between the two nations’ armed forces.
The visit on Tuesday included a tour of Iran’s Army Command and Staff University (Dafoos), where Maphwanya engaged with Iranian Armed Forces Chief of Staff Major General Abdolrahim Mousavi, facility commander Second Brigadier General Hossein Valivand-Zamani, and other high-ranking officers.
Mousavi said Iran was ready to work with South Africa in military, technical, and industrial areas to serve shared national interests and strengthen security in the region and internationally. He made the remarks despite Iran’s recent losses in its conflict with Israel.
Valivand-Zamani invited South African students and faculty to take part in exchange programmes at Dafoos, which admits candidates from various countries. The next intake begins in September. Maphwanya welcomed the proposal, calling the institution’s academic capabilities advanced and expressing interest in seeing collaborative ideas take shape.
During the trip, Major General Amir Hatami praised South Africa’s position on the recent Israel conflict, commending what he described as its strong stance against the United States and Israel. The visit came as Pretoria is seeking to renegotiate a 30 per cent US tariff on South African exports, a move some analysts say could be complicated by closer military engagement with Iran.
Chris Hattingh, Executive Director at the Centre for Risk Analysis, warned that US policymakers may view such engagements as undermining efforts to isolate Iran, potentially making trade talks more challenging.
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