South African President calls for restraint following Middle East carnage
Cape Town, South Africa (PANA) – South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has called for maximum restraint after the United States and Israel launched strikes against Iran on Saturday.
The strikes, which President Donald Trump said were aimed at destroying Iranian missiles and annihilating its navy, follow repeated US-Israeli warnings that they would strike Iran if it pressed ahead with its nuclear and ballistic missile programmes.
The attacks have seen Middle Eastern countries close their airspaces, leaving thousands of travellers stranded.
Airports Company South Africa (ACSA) confirmed that the continued closure of the UAE airspace was affecting Emirates and Qatar Airways flights at various South African airports.
Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO) spokesperson Chrispin Phiri confirmed that all South African diplomats and citizens in the region who were known to the department were safe.
“We do not have any distress calls,” he said. DIRCO’s head of public diplomacy, Clayson Monyela, said the department is in touch with South Africans in the region. South Africa’s consulate general in Dubai on Sunday issued an advisory to South African citizens residing in the UAE, urging them to “exercise heightened vigilance in light of the evolving situation in the region".
President Ramaphosa’s spokesperson Vincent Magwenya said the president has expressed “deep concern” regarding the escalation of tensions in the Middle East. “These developments pose a serious threat to regional and international peace and security, with far-reaching humanitarian, diplomatic and economic consequences.”
He said President Ramaphosa calls on all parties to exercise maximum restraint and to act in a manner consistent with international law, international humanitarian law and the principles of the UN Charter.
Magwenya added that Article 51 of the UN Charter provides for self-defence only when a state has been subjected to an armed invasion: “Anticipatory self-defence is not permitted under international law and self-defence cannot be based on assumption or anticipation. Experience has repeatedly demonstrated that there can be no military solution to fundamentally political problems that can and should be resolved diplomatically. Military confrontation has never delivered sustainable peace, nor has it addressed the legitimate grievances that underlie conflict.”
President Ramaphosa has reiterated his call for intensified diplomatic efforts to de-escalate tensions and create space for continued meaningful negotiations.
“We urge the international community, including multilateral institutions and regional partners, to redouble efforts aimed at promoting mediation and peaceful resolution. As a nation that has emerged from conflict through dialogue and reconciliation, SA remains steadfast in its belief that peace is not only possible, but imperative for the shared future of the Middle East and the world,” President Ramaphosa said.
-0- PANA CU/MA 2March2026
