{"id":48648,"date":"2026-01-29T03:18:30","date_gmt":"2026-01-29T03:18:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/?p=48648"},"modified":"2026-01-29T03:18:30","modified_gmt":"2026-01-29T03:18:30","slug":"sandf-launches-board-inquiry-iranian-navys-role-will-for-peace-2026-drill","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/2026\/01\/29\/sandf-launches-board-inquiry-iranian-navys-role-will-for-peace-2026-drill\/","title":{"rendered":"SANDF launches board of inquiry into Iranian navy\u2019s role in \u2018Will for Peace 2026\u2019 drill"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <script data-jetpack-boost=\"ignore\" async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-1669381584671856\"\r\n     crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script>\r\n<!-- Africa tv video display -->\r\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\"\r\n     style=\"display:block\"\r\n     data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-1669381584671856\"\r\n     data-ad-slot=\"3579572842\"\r\n     data-ad-format=\"auto\"\r\n     data-full-width-responsive=\"true\"><\/ins>\r\n<script data-jetpack-boost=\"ignore\">\r\n     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\r\n<\/script><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<p><h2>Iran sent three warships to the exercise, prompting allegations that President Cyril Ramaphosa&#8217;s instructions were ignored, misrepresented, or not carried out.<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<p>The Department of Defence has set up a board of inquiry to investigate the Islamic Republic of Iran\u2019s navy in the \u201cWills for Peace\u201d naval exercise led by China, but held in South Africa, despite instructions by President Cyril Ramaphosa\u2019s directive that Iran be instructed to withdraw.<\/p>\n<p>Iran\u2019s participation in the drills, which included China and Russia, was heavily criticised amid that country\u2019s clampdown on anti-government protesters.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-critics\">Critics<\/h2>\n<p>Among the loudest critics were the United States, which has been in open hostilities with Iran. The US Embassy slammed the South African government over the debacle.<\/p>\n<p>On Wednesday, 12 days after Defence Minister Angie Motshekga announced that a board of inquiry would report back within \u201cseven days\u201d, she appointed three judges and a rear admiral to chair the probe.<\/p>\n<p><strong>ALSO READ: Presidency confirms Ramaphosa\u2019s instruction to Motshekhga that Iran exit naval drills<\/strong><\/p>\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-the-board\">The board<\/h3>\n<p>The board includes Judge Bernard Ngoepe, Judge Mashangu Monica Leeuw, \u00a0Judge Kathleen Margaret \u201cKathie\u201d\u00a0Satchwell and Rear Admiral (Junior Grade) (rtd) Patrick \u201cLucky\u201d Tamsanqa Duze.<\/p>\n<p>Ramaphosa reportedly issued a directive for Iran withdraw from the navy drill following a warning from the US that Iran\u2019s participation and the presence of three Iranian warships off False Bay\u00a0could harm South Africa\u2019s international standing. particularly from the US, and also raising concerns about political costs for the country.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe aim of the Board of Inquiry is to investigate and report on the serious allegations that the President\u2019s instructions may not have been carried out, misrepresented and or ignored regarding the participation of the Islamic Republic of Iran Navy during Exercise Will for Peace 2026,\u201d said Defence Department spokesperson Siphiwe Dlamini.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIn the endeavour to ensure transparency and full independence, consultation with the identified members of the board took longer than expected, thus impacting the deadline as set.\u201d<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-inquiry\">Inquiry<\/h3>\n<p>Dlamini said the board will commence its work as soon as all administrative aspects have been put in place.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The department has yet to make the board\u2019s terms of reference public.<\/p>\n<p><strong>ALSO READ: \u2018SA can\u2019t lecture world on justice while cosying up to Iran,\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><script data-jetpack-boost=\"ignore\" async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-1669381584671856\"\r\n     crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script>\r\n<!-- Africa tv video display -->\r\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\"\r\n     style=\"display:block\"\r\n     data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-1669381584671856\"\r\n     data-ad-slot=\"3579572842\"\r\n     data-ad-format=\"auto\"\r\n     data-full-width-responsive=\"true\"><\/ins>\r\n<script data-jetpack-boost=\"ignore\">\r\n     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\r\n<\/script><br \/>\n#SANDF #launches #board #inquiry #Iranian #navys #role #Peace #drill<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Iran sent three warships to the exercise, prompting allegations that President Cyril Ramaphosa&#8217;s instructions were ignored, misrepresented, or not carried&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":48649,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-48648","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mzansi"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48648","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=48648"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48648\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":48650,"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48648\/revisions\/48650"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/48649"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=48648"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=48648"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=48648"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}