This video grab taken on 14 January from UGC images posted on social media on January 9,2026 shows cars set on fire during a protest on Saadat Abad Square in Tehran.
UGC/AFP
Iran is clamping down on protesters amid its ongoing disagreements with Israel and the US. Tehran has enforced a brutal crackdown against the protesters,leading to a reported death toll of more than 2 500.The DA likens the Iranian protests to the Soweto Uprising and the Sharpeville Massacre,and the party is asking its government of national unity partner,the ANC,to choose between the Iranian regime and its people. The DA says the Department of International Relations and Cooperation (Dirco) has to choose between those protesting in Iran and the Tehran regime.
In a letter to International Relations Minister Ronald Lamola on Wednesday morning,the party’s international relations and cooperation spokesperson,Ryan Smith,even likened the Iran uprisings to the Sharpeville Massacre and the Soweto uprising of 16 June 1976.
In its clampdown against the protesters,Tehran also reportedly indicated that trials of those involved would be expedited and that there would be executions as the official death toll was more than 2 500 people.
Smith said: “As we speak,the death toll from the violent crackdown by the Iranian government led by Iran’s Supreme Leader,Ayatollah Ali Khamenei,is reportedly nearing 3 000 as rampant anti-government protests and demonstrations sweep the country.
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“The use of such blatantly deadly oppression against civilians by a sitting government is one of the most egregious forms of human rights abuse witnessed anywhere in the world,and brings into sharp question South Africa’s relationship with such a barbaric actor on the international stage.”
The DA has formally written to Minister of International Relations and Cooperation,Ronald Lamola,demanding that he report Iran to the United Nations Human Rights Council for blatant human rights abuses in the deadly suppression of civilian protests. https://t.co/JVO8DrGA33
— Democratic Alliance (@Our_DA) January 14,2026
The DA’s letter comes after News24 reported that Defence and Military Veterans Minister Angie Motshekga was asked to request that Iran be stopped from partaking in joint military exercises with the SA Navy,and other military powers,such as China,Russia,the United Arab Emirates,and other countries,such as Egypt,which observed on the sidelines.
READ | Did Motshekga defy Ramaphosa on Iran’s role in BRICS naval drill?
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News24 reported on Tuesday that it appeared Motshekga didn’t obey the Presidency’s instruction that Iran should not take part in the military exercise.
Smith said the DA and South Africans were “witnessing what can only be called a revolution” in Iran,which has responded with brutal state force.
“In many ways,the Iranian uprisings echo South Africa’s own struggle for freedom,including the Sharpeville massacre of 21 March 1960 and the Soweto uprising of 16 June 1976,when peaceful civilian protest was met with brutal state violence.
“At those moments,the international community stood with the people of South Africa,not with the apartheid regime.
“Today,Dirco and the ANC face the same moral test: whether they stand with the people of Iran,or with those who repress them.”
He added:
The constitutional democracy that South Africa enjoys today is thanks to the sacrifices made by tens of thousands of South African civilians who gave their lives for freedom,democracy,and human rights,and it is our duty to them to ensure that our country uses its voice in all international fora to speak out against any regime that seeks to stifle freedom at the violent expense of human life.
Smith also said Pretoria’s role was especially crucial in this regard,considering Iran’s accession to BRICS+,and the ANC’s “own very public and unapologetic proximity to Iran,which has found worrying expression in South African foreign policy despite being wholly incompatible with the values for which our republic stands”.
READ | Iran withdraws from Simon’s Town naval drill at SA’s request after diplomatic discussions
He added that while South Africa had the right to join any number of multilateral organisations,it “does not have the right to ignore” the principles of freedom,and human rights enshrined in the Constitution.
He said it was Lamola’s responsibility as Dirco’s political principal to uphold those values on the international stage.
“Anything less would be an abdication of your sworn constitutional duty,” Smith said.
“It is for this reason that the DA is writing to you to formally request that South Africa report the Islamic Republic of Iran to the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) for flagrant human rights abuses in the deadly suppression of civilians as part of sweeping public uprisings across the country.”
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He warned that the DA,as a member of the government of national unity,would not tolerate Pretoria’s “silence” and “proximity to brutal authoritarian regimes”.
Lamola’s spokesperson,Chrispin Phiri,had not responded to News24 by the time of writing.
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