Iran Bolsters Ties with South Africa, Aims to Increase African Trade to $2 Billion Amid US Sanctions

Iran's push to deepen relationships across Africa, with South Africa playing a strategic role in its plans, is seen as a response to US sanctions and aims to leverage the continent's untapped potential for trade. Iran's exports to Africa saw a significant growth in the past two years, and are predicted to further increase in 2023.

• Under heavy economic sanctions from the US, Iran has been progressively strengthening its relationships across Africa, with President Ebrahim Raisi making recent state visits to South Africa, Kenya, Uganda, and Zimbabwe.
• The Iranian president highlighted Africa's role as a potential market for Iranian products and underlined his dissatisfaction with the current volume of trade and financial exchange between countries.
• Iran's exports to Africa have seen notable growth, increasing from $579 million in 2020 to $1.28 billion in 2022. Iran aims to further boost this trade to surpass $2 billion in 2023.
• Iran and South Africa have a long historical relationship, dating back to the apartheid era. Iran was among the first nations to lift sanctions against South Africa after it achieved Black majority rule in 1994.
• Despite being on the US sanctions list, Iran's growing ties with South Africa are seen as strategic, not just for their mutual benefit, but also potentially connecting other BRICS countries—Brazil, Russia, India, and China—through Iran's geographically advantageous position.

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