South Africa says the war in Iran is pushing up living costs at home and taking money “out of the pockets” of ordinary citizens. Alvin Botes, South Africa’s deputy foreign minister, told TVP World’s World Talks at the Antalya Diplomacy Forum that the conflict was having “an adverse effect on our economy” and that the fallout was being felt in trade routes, prices and inflation. “The immediate effect is that there has been a rising cost of living in South Africa,” he said, emphasizing that normal people were feeling the pinch due to fuel prices. Botes said the impact on food security had so far been limited, even though African economies were already under strain from earlier disruptions, including the war in Ukraine. “It has not yet yielded an adverse impact in terms of food insecurity,” he said. But he warned that inflationary pressure was already visible. “There are concerns about inflationary pressures that have an impact on the repo [borrowing] rate,” he said, linking the Iran conflict to broader economic strain in South Africa. Sharp criticism of US and Israel Botes also used the forum to attack the US and Israel’s approach to Iran, saying there had been “unanimity” among many participants over what he called unilateral action by major powers. “It was unprovoked,” he said. He rejected the argument that the escalation was primarily about stopping Iran from developing nuclear weapons. “Absolutely not,” Botes said when asked whether he accepted that explanation. On relations with Washington, Botes insisted Pretoria still saw the US as “a strategic partner” and said the appointment of a new ambassador should be seen as “a positive” step toward stronger bilateral ties. Russian soldiers probe Turning to Russia’s war against Ukraine, Botes said South Africa was investigating reports that Africans had been recruited to fight through deception. “Any South African that participates in a foreign war would be guilty of a crime in South Africa,” he said, in line with South Africa’s foreign military assistance legislation. Botes also downplayed the row over Poland’s invitation to US-hosted G20 meetings, saying Warsaw had not “taken” South Africa’s place because Poland was attending as a guest, not a member.
