South Africa concerned by Israel-Iran hostilities in Middle East

The Government of South Africa is “gravely concerned” by the developments in the Middle East following retaliatory military action by the Islamic Republic of Iran against Israel on Saturday.

Current tensions between the two countries were triggered on April 1, after an attack on the Iranian Consulate in Damascus – which Iran blamed on Israel – resulted in the killing of seven Iranian military officials, including a senior commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) for Syria and Lebanon.

As a response to the fatal attack, Iran launched hundreds of drones and missiles against Israel, in an operation dubbed ‘True Promise’, that lasted several hours, causing more tensions in the Middle East region.

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“As the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Antonio Guterres has stated, there is a very real danger of a devastating region-wide escalation.

“In this context, South Africa emphasises that all parties must exercise the utmost restraint and avoid any act that would escalate tensions in a particularly fragile region,” the Department of International Relations and Cooperation (Dirco) said in a statement.

South Africa has continuously stressed that irrespective of whether states believe that their use of force is lawful, it is never wise to resort to war as inevitably, it is ordinary people who bear the brunt of conflict.

“The international community and the United Nations Security Council, in particular, must act in the pursuit of sustainable and just peace for all people,” Dirco stated.

The department also warned that the proliferation of global conflicts will continue “if we, as the international community, do not commit ourselves to the ending of war and the establishment of conditions under which justice and respect for international law are maintained.”

Amid speculation that Israel might respond to Iran’s strikes, there are reports that US officials have urged Tel Aviv not to go ahead with any further military action.