Fact Check: Is South Africa sending troops to help Trump wage war in Iran?

WASHINGTON, DC: As the conflict in the Middle East continues to escalate, a claim began circulating on social media platforms that South Africa is sending its troops to Iran to help President Donald Trump in the war, sparking speculations among netizens. Let us analyze the origins of the rumour and fact-check the authenticity of the viral claim. 

Claim: South Africa to send troops to help America in Iran

After the United States and Israel bombed Iran in a joint operation, the claim surfaced on Facebook in the form of a cartoon, accompanied by a caption stating, “BREAKING NEWS: Cyril Ramaphosa announced that he will send South African soldiers to the USA 🇺🇸 to help Trump fight Iran!!”

Both the cartoon and the breaking news caption have been reposted and widely shared on other social media platforms, including X, Reddit, and Threads, garnering hundreds of thousands of views.

Fact Check: False, South Africa did not make such an offer 

However, the claim is untrue as there is no evidence that the South African President offered to send his troops to help the US, although he did comment on the war in Iran.

In an official statement, Ramaphosa said, “Article 51 of the UN [United Nations] Charter provides for self-defence only when a state has been subjected to an armed invasion. Anticipatory self-defence is not permitted under international law, and self-defence cannot be based on assumption or anticipation.”

He told reporters, “South Africa is always ready to play a contributing role, either in mediation or whatever. And if a gap opens or if we are asked, we always live up to our obligations, we are a global citizen, and we therefore can play whatever role the UN would like us to play.”

Searches on Google for the claim also did not yield any relevant results from prominent news media outlets.

Donald Trump waives the Jones Act for 60 days

As the global oil markets face volatility linked to ongoing geopolitical tensions, Trump, on Wednesday, March 18, issued a 60-day waiver of the 'Jones Act', temporarily allowing foreign-flagged ships to transport fuel between US ports in an effort to address rising energy prices.

The century-old maritime law typically restricts domestic shipping to US-built, US-flagged, and US-crewed vessels, limiting the number of tankers available to transport fuel domestically.

Officials say the waiver is intended to ease short-term supply constraints and stabilize prices.