The Iranian corvette, the IRIS Naghdi (Hull82) lies moored in Simon's Town harbour, near Cape Town, South Africa, on Jan. 10.RODGER BOSCH/AFP/Getty Images
The first military exercise by the emerging BRICS partnership has descended into confusion after Iran sent a warship to join the Atlantic Ocean manoeuvres, defying strong pressure to withdraw.
The naval exercise, which has sparked sharp criticism from allies of U.S. President Donald Trump, began on Tuesday in the sea near Cape Town in South Africa. The Iranian corvette was joined by warships from Russia, China, South Africa and the United Arab Emirates – all members of the 10-country BRICS group.
The South African military confirmed the participation of the Iranian ship and the other four warships in an announcement on social media on Tuesday – and then mysteriously deleted the statement. It provided no explanation for the deletion or any other details about the exercise.
The South African government, fearing U.S. retaliation, had earlier asked Iran to pull out of the naval exercise and become just an observer, and Iran had agreed, according to reports by local media. But those reports were cast into doubt when observers spotted the Iranian warship heading out to sea on Tuesday morning, along with the other ships in the exercise.
China, which organized the naval operation and named it “Will for Peace 2026,” has touted it as the first multilateral exercise by the BRICS organization. The flags of all 10 of the BRICS members are being flown in Simon’s Town, site of South Africa’s main naval base, near Cape Town.
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The organization was first established by China, Russia, Brazil and India in 2009 as a trade and economic group. Since then, it has been expanding its membership and drifting into geopolitical issues, drawing the ire of Mr. Trump, who has repeatedly accused it of trying to weaken U.S. influence.
South Africa joined the group in 2010, followed later by Iran, Ethiopia, Egypt, Indonesia and the UAE.
In recent years, BRICS has increasingly emerged as a counterweight to Western groups such as the Group of Seven. It has taken steps to move away from the U.S. dollar in international trade, which prompted Mr. Trump to threaten to impose heavy tariffs on its members.
The naval exercise has triggered further criticism, especially after Iran decided to send three ships to participate. One of the Iranian ships is from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, which has led the violent crackdown on anti-government protesters in Iran in recent days.
“Iran’s decision to send it was clearly provocative,” said Darren Olivier, an independent South African military analyst, who noted that the Revolutionary Guards have been placed under sanctions by several Western governments.
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Jim Risch, a U.S. Republican senator who heads the Senate foreign relations committee, said South Africa’s decision to become host of the naval exercise is proof of its “open hostility” to the United States.
“President Trump is right to treat South Africa’s government for what it is: an adversary of America,” Mr. Risch said in a social media post on Monday. “That is why the U.S. should take stronger action against the South African government.”
He said the South African government “hides behind a claim of non-alignment, yet its military hosts drills with America’s chief adversaries.”
The Democratic Alliance, South Africa’s second-biggest political party and a member of its governing coalition, said the naval exercise was leading the country “into a moral and ethical abyss” by including warships from countries “actively involved in reversing and stifling the universal freedoms enshrined in our constitution.”
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The South African government has compounded the controversy by disclosing few details about the exercise and repeatedly postponing a media briefing about it. The briefing is now scheduled for Friday, the final day of the exercise. But the arrival of the Iranian, Chinese and Russian warships has been easily visible to tourists and beachgoers along the False Bay coast near Cape Town this week.
Local media have reported that officials are trying to keep the exercise low-profile to avoid jeopardizing South Africa’s trade talks with the United States, in which it is trying to reduce the tariffs imposed by Mr. Trump last year. The government is also trying to ensure that South Africa is included in a revived version of a U.S.-Africa trade treaty, which expired last year.
South Africa’s top military chief, General Rudzani Maphwanya, had sparked an earlier furor last August when he travelled to Tehran for meetings with Iranian military leaders. Iranian media said he affirmed the “common goals” of the two countries during his visit.
After he returned home, a spokesperson for President Cyril Ramaphosa said the visit was “ill-advised” because it could damage Pretoria’s attempts to improve relations with the Trump administration.
The naval exercise was originally scheduled for last November, but South Africa postponed it because it would have coincided with the G20 summit in Johannesburg.