The ANC and DA, key members of the government of national unity (GNU), clashed in the National Assembly on Thursday night during an urgent debate on South Africa’s response to the escalating Iran conflict.
DA MP Ryan Smith accused its governing partner of pursuing a “schizophrenic and disingenuous” foreign policy, while government ministers defended a non-aligned approach rooted in dialogue and multilateralism.
Trade, industry and competition minister Parks Tau opened the debate by warning of immediate economic risks to South Africa, including rising fuel costs and supply disruptions linked to instability in key shipping routes.
Tau said Brent crude has risen above $100 (R1,683) a barrel and fuel price increases are “unavoidable”, given South Africa’s reliance on imported energy. He told MPs more than 70% of imports from the Middle East are energy-related and disruptions to the Strait of Hormuz pose a direct threat to supply, with knock-on effects for food production and inflation.
He said the government has moved to secure alternative fuel sources and maintain supply through the Strategic Fuel Fund, while accelerating domestic interventions, including petroleum exploration and fertiliser production through Foskor. He also mentioned broader measures to strengthen energy security and reduce long-term exposure to global shocks.
Smith delivered the most forceful intervention of the debate, accusing the ANC of pursuing a “schizophrenic” foreign policy and accused the party of “diplomatic hypocrisy” and inconsistency. He said South Africa’s attempt to “condemn all parties” is “disingenuous” and fails to account for Iran’s “decades-long sponsorship of terrorism”, describing Iran as “not our friend” and a “global source of terror”.
It means every South African will pay more at the till
— Malebo Kobe, ActinSA MP
He said the ANC has turned South Africa into “Iran’s useful idiots” and was “tap dancing around diplomatic double standards”, warning its approach was dragging the country “away from our natural allies and into the arms of terrorists and despots”.
Quoting Helen Suzman, Smith said: “When in doubt, go back to principle”, arguing the ANC had abandoned constitutional principle in favour of “political nostalgia”, and accused it of selectively applying international law depending on political alignment.
Deputy minister of transport Mkhuleko Hlengwa said the escalation of violence is “unjustified, unreasonable, irresponsible and irrational”, calling for an immediate cessation of hostilities and renewed diplomatic engagement under the UN.
Hlengwa warned South Africa’s multilateral alignments, including its relationships within Brics, must not undermine its constitutional commitment to human rights and international law, and called for clarity on what diplomatic initiatives government was pursuing through multilateral institutions.
FF+ leader Corné Mulder said South Africa’s foreign policy is being shaped by “long-standing commitments” linked to the ANC’s liberation history rather than current economic interests, adding Iran is “not even among the top 30 trading partners of South Africa” while the US remains the country’s second-largest partner. He warned the current approach risks “making America an enemy” and said ideological positioning will not “put food on the table” for unemployed South Africans.
Rise Mzansi MP Makashule Gana condemned the war as a “grave violation of international law” and warned its effects are being felt domestically. Gana said diesel prices could rise by as much as R8 per litre, placing “enormous strain on households and businesses”, while fertiliser costs will increase and drive food price inflation.
He said the conflict is “not abstract; it is economic pain felt by many South Africans” and set out national imperatives, including:
- support for international de-escalation efforts;
- urgent diversification of energy supply chains;
- a revised economic outlook from the Treasury; and
- strengthened defence and security capabilities to respond to global instability.
EFF MP Nqobile Mhlongo backed Iran, describing US and Israeli actions as unjustified. Mhlongo framed the conflict as part of broader “imperialism”, while calling for the termination of diplomatic ties with Israel and a review of relations with the US. She warned global institutions have been rendered ineffective in the face of major power aggression. She said the conflict reflects a pattern of Western interventionism that continues to destabilise regions without accountability.
ActionSA MP Malebo Kobe said the war will have immediate cost-of-living consequences, warning oil price increases of about 40% will skyrocket fuel prices and raise transport and food costs. These effects will be felt across households and businesses.
“It means every South African will pay more at the till,” she said, calling for temporary fuel levy relief and faster energy diversification, and criticising what she described as government paralysis in responding to global shocks.
History offers no record of people being liberated by bombs falling from the sky
— Ronald Lamola, international relations minister
Build One SA leader Mmusi Maimane, whose party initiated the debate, said South Africa’s foreign policy should be guided by “human rights and trade” rather than geopolitical alignment, arguing “there are no permanent friends in international relations, only permanent interests”.
Maimane warned the conflict will travel through energy markets, through supply chains and into the daily lives of South Africans.
The petrol price is expected to rise by more than R4 a litre and diesel by more than R7/l in April.
Maimane called on MPs to reject a proposed fuel levy increase, saying parliament has a moral duty to protect South Africans from unjust burdens.
Lamola hits back at DA claims
Responding at the close of the debate, international relations minister Ronald Lamola rejected the DA’s characterisation and defended South Africa’s position as consistent and rooted in non-alignment.
“History offers no record of people being liberated by bombs falling from the sky”, Lamola said, reiterating government’s opposition to military solutions and its support for dialogue and multilateral processes.
Lamola said South Africa has supported peaceful protests, freedom of expression and freedom of association for the Iranian people, while calling for investigations into human rights violations by all sides.
He challenged the DA’s framing of principle, turning Smith’s invocation of Suzman back on the party, and questioned whether a foreign policy that selectively condemns actors can claim moral consistency.
Lamola said South Africa has been consistent on questions of sovereignty, including in Ukraine, Sudan and other conflicts, and rejected the assertion the country is aligned to any bloc. He said maintaining non-alignment is an active and deliberate policy choice rather than neutrality.
He also pushed back against claims that South Africa is becoming diplomatically isolated, pointing to the number of countries that have supported its positions in international forums, and said the country’s foreign policy is “not anti-American but anti-imperialist”, grounded in the principles of the UN Charter and the protection of sovereign equality among nations.
Lamola rejected calls for a shift in alignment based on trade or strategic interests, saying sustainable peace can only be achieved through dialogue that respects the agency of affected populations, and reiterated South Africa’s position requires consistency “for all sides” in the conflict.
He warned the economic consequences of the war will be felt domestically, with rising fuel prices expected to drive increases in transport and food costs, and said the government is co-ordinating responses across departments to mitigate the impact, adding the crisis required collective action rather than political contestation.
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