Overview
- US and Israeli attacks on Iran and Tehran’s retaliatory strikes across multiple countries have intensified the crisis, with reports of heavy civilian casualties including a girls’ school in Minab where the Iranian judiciary said the death toll rose to 85.
- President Cyril Ramaphosa said the escalation threatens regional and international peace and security and called for maximum restraint consistent with international and humanitarian law.
- The Presidency reiterated that there is no military solution to political disputes and pressed for intensified diplomacy to create space for meaningful negotiations.
- Citing the UN Charter, South Africa said self-defence applies only after an armed invasion and that anticipatory self-defence cannot lawfully justify the strikes.
- South Africa’s foreign ministry urged citizens in affected countries to register with embassies as widespread airspace closures force cancellations and reroutings, including flights from Johannesburg.