SA’s foreign policy will be led by national interest, not Washington – Lamola to Bozell

South Africa’s International Relations Minister, Ronald Lamola, stated on Thursday that theUnited States cannot legitimately criticize South Africa for engaging with Iran and China. Lamolapointed out that Washington itself continuously engages with both nations, making its criticismcontradictory. He emphasized that South Africa will not be pressured into taking sides in globalgeopolitical contests and will firmly defend its sovereign right to pursue bilateral relations withcountries across the spectrum.The minister’s remarks were a direct response to criticism from Reuben Brigety, the USAmbassador to South Africa. Brigety had claimed on social media that recent high-profilediplomatic visits—specifically, Deputy President Paul Mashatile’s visit to Beijing and IranianDeputy Foreign Minister Ali Bagheri Kani’s visit to Pretoria—undermined South Africa’s statedforeign policy of non-alignment.In a post on X (formerly Twitter), the US ambassador had challenged South Africa's diplomaticdecisions, writing, “These are choices, they speak for themselves.”See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.