US Ambassador Leo Brent Bozell III has sparked fresh diplomatic tensions by asserting that South Africa has abandoned its non-aligned foreign policy, after South Africa hosted Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister while Deputy President Paul Mashatile is in China.
US Ambassador to South Africa, Brent Bozell III, has stirred up new controversy regarding Pretoria’s international stance by claiming that the nation has abandoned its official policy of neutrality.
This is after the government hosted Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister, Dr Saeed Khatibzadeh, for bilateral talks while Deputy President Paul Mashatile was simultaneously in Beijing deepening bilateral, political and economic ties with China.
Bozell expressed his frustration on X, arguing that South Africa cannot legitimately claim the mantle of non-alignment while openly courting and actively aligning with America’s geopolitical rivals.
“Deputy President Mashatile in Beijing. Iran's Deputy FM in Pretoria. Same week. South Africa can't claim the mantle of non-alignment while actively courting America's adversaries. These are choices, and they speak for themselves,” read the post.
