ANC NEC member Lindiwe Zulu says it’s “unfortunate” that the United States administration under President Donald Trump believes that it has the “right” to tell other nations what to do or who to elect as their leader.
Mojtaba Khamenei was named Iran’s new supreme leader, succeeding his father just more than a week after he was killed in US-Israeli strikes.
New Iranian Supreme Leader
The 56-year-old Mojtaba Khamenei, the second son of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, is widely viewed as a hard-line figure with close ties to the powerful Revolutionary Guard.
Israel has already described him as a potential target, while Trump said last week that he should have a say in picking a new leader.
“They are wasting their time. Khamenei’s son is a lightweight. I have to be involved in the appointment,” he said. “Khamenei’s son is unacceptable to me.”
The current appointment of a Supreme Leader is overseen by Iran’s clerics.
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‘Right to elect leaders’
Speaking to The Citizen at the Nizamiye Mosque Ramadan Ifthar Dinner under the theme “Friendship and Dialogue, Unity in Diversity”, Zulu said nations across the globe have the right to elect their own leaders.
Zulu wished Mojtaba Khamenei and Iran well
“Well, people have to elect the people or put in a position of leadership, the people that they want. It is the same here in South Africa: when somebody else, somewhere else, says to us, ‘Don’t elect this one; elect this one’, of course, it goes according to our own beliefs.
“So, we wish them well, but when all is said and done, we just would like to see a process where peace is brought upon the people of the Middle East. Peace is brought upon all the countries in the Middle East,” Zulu said.
Peace
Zulu added that one of the most important tenets to achieving peace is dialogue.
“We are here because we had a negotiated settlement, and that is why we always believe that dialogue ultimately will be able to help the people to find each other. They need to find each other.
“We have to respect decisions that are made by other nations, whoever they want them, want to lead them. It’s their responsibility, it’s their choice. We cannot interfere in that choice,” Zulu said.
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Slamming Trump
Zulu had strong words for the Trump administration.
“Well, it’s very unfortunate that we have an administration at the moment that believes that it’s got the right over all other nations, it’s quite unfortunate.
“The good thing is that the ANC has always worked towards having good relations with the American people. It has never been easy, because Mandela was called a terrorist.
“But we continued to look towards finding each other because, as nations, we need to work with each other for peace.
“This war, that is ongoing now, is of no benefit to anyone. As the ANC, we believe that we must do everything we can in our power to end wars in the world,” Zulu said.
US ambassador summoned
Earlier this week, International Relations Minister Ronald Lamola demarched US ambassador to South Africa Leo Brent Bozell III to explain his “undiplomatic” remarks.
Brent Bozell III arrived in South Africa less than a month ago and already begun ruffling feathers.
Speaking at a business conference hosted by BizNews in Hermanus, Western Cape, Bozell was critical of South Africa’s current policy trajectories.
He also mentioned the ‘Kill the Boer’ chant, declaring it hate speech and saying he “didn’t care” about the Constitutional Court’s ruling on the matter.
Speaking to the media on Wednesday, Lamola said Brent Bozell III apologised for the remarks.
US-Pretoria relations
The deterioration of relations between Pretoria and the US began when Trump signed an executive order suspending US aid to South Africa and announced a refugee programme targeting Afrikaners.
South Africa has not had an ambassador in Washington since the Trump administration expelled its last one, Ebrahim Rasool, in March 2025, declaring him persona non grata and giving him just a week to leave the US due to his comments about the Trump administration.
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