Army's Iran visit 'no good for Tau'

SANDF: CHIEF GUSHING 'COOPERATION' CAN HURT US DEAL

- Jarryd Westerdale

Senior South African and Iranian military officials have promised a mutually cooperative future as delegations met in Tehran this week – but the talks can put trade relations with the US in jeopardy.

South African National Defence Force (SANDF) chief Rudzani Maphwanya met a host of Iranian military leaders and toured facilities, expressing his "enthusiastic" support for his hosts.

In the same week that South Africa was attempting to smooth over relations with the US, Maphwanya pledged military and political alignment with Iran.

Executive director at the Centre for Risk Analysis Chris Hattingh said this could provide a "point of frustration" in Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition Parks Tau's attempts to smooth trade relations with the US.

"Even if SA submitted the strongest kind of trade-focused deal to the US, engagements such as the latest with Iran will make any possible deal around lower US tariffs and other investments all the more difficult," Hattingh said.

The SANDF general met Iranian Armed Forces (IAF) staff when visiting the Army Command and Staff University of Iran (Dafoos) in Tehran.