Anti-Israel protesters march through the streets of the township of Lenasia in Johannesburg, South Africa, Oct. 6, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Ihsaan Haffejee

Amid growing instability across the world, South Africa is playing a key role in the tectonic geopolitical shifts underway, recently supporting Iranian membership in BRICS, the Russian-led Global South economic club.

With its bogus genocide charges at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) and its connections to Iranian nuclear interests, South Africa spearheads the global solidarity movement’s attack on Israel.

Elite political figures in South Africa show no discomfort with the desire of Iranian leaders to destroy the State of Israel. The South African figure most closely associated with nuclear policy, Abdul Minty, is a veteran anti-apartheid activist and ambassador to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). He is also an outspoken opponent of Israel, who has a track record in the IAEA that is considered favorable to Iran.

In pursuit of their goal to destroy Israel, the Iranian leadership prefers not to put their own population in the firing line, cultivating proxy militias elsewhere, including Gaza’s Hamas, Lebanon’s Hezbollah, Yemen’s Houthis, and Syria’s Shi’ite militia.

South Africa increasingly shows itself to be another key Iranian proxy site, an eighth front in Israel’s existential war.

With South African civilians and politicians working actively against Israel — including in diplomatic arenas, in lawfare, and in humanitarian sectors — public perception is churned in Iran’s favor, including support for the false “apartheid” analogy that has since been overtaken by charges of genocide.

Iran’s stated goal to destroy the Jewish State has been supported on the streets of Johannesburg, Pretoria, and Cape Town, where sources close to Jewish communal organizations highlight links between South African anti-Israel groups and Iran.

South Africans generally are reeling in shock, following crass antisemitic statements made by Dr. Imtiaz Sooliman, the much loved founder and director of Gift of the Givers humanitarian relief agency, at a recent rally in Cape Town organized by the Palestinian Solidarity Campaign (PSC) and attended by extreme anti-Israel and pro-Iran groups.

Sooliman’s comments were highlighted in an open letter by retired High Court Judge Lawrence Nowosenetz, published in his blog on The Times of Israel.

Sooliman continues to work with the backing and support of the South African government and elite civil society, and has many other supporters including Usuf Chikte, coordinator of the PSC Campaign. Speaking at Cape Town’s first Shia Mosque, Ahlul Bait Mosque, on Al Quds Day in April 2022, Chikte described his excitement in 1979 when the Islamic Revolution took place, and his support for Iranian geopolitical interests oozes from his every utterance. He has pushed legislation to boycott Israel, to use lawfare charges or genocide against it, and much more.

Chikte’s promotion of Shiite Iranian geopolitical interests is also clear on the international front, where he calls explicitly for the removal of the Sunni leaders in Jordan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and the United Gulf States, which he describes as “so-called Muslim countries.”

“We want to expose the hypocrisy of the despots of the Middle East,” said Chikte. “In the fight against imperialism, these are the people at the forefront and they must be removed for us to be able to ensure that the whole region is free from imperialism, from plundering and pillaging of that whole area.”

Time will tell if South Africa is using BRICS to undermine the possibility of any progress with the Abraham Accords as Sooliman, Chikte, Hamas, and Iran would wish, and whether leaders of the “so-called Muslim” countries described by Chikte will be pleased if, with South Africa’s support, Iran does in fact succeed in its goal to undermine and destroy the Jewish State.

Joshua Schewitz is a researcher and analyst specializing in Africa and the Middle East, with a focus on security related-topics in addition to blockchain technology.