Loyiso Tyabashe, group CEO of Necsa, the South African Nuclear Energy Corporation. (Screengrab) ‘Around the executive order and South Africa doing work with Iran, I can say that Necsa is not doing any work with Iran. I’m not aware of any other entities in the country [working on nuclear arrangements with Iran] but I can categorically say that Necsa has got no relations or work with Iran.”
So said the group CEO of the South African Nuclear Energy Corporation (Necsa), Loyiso Tyabashe, in response to questions at a media briefing on Monday.
Tyabashe continued, “We do have memorandums of understanding [MoUs] with many other countries like companies in the US and France and all over the globe but we don’t have any MoUs with them [Iran].”
He was referring to an executive order issued by the Trump administration on 7 February 2025, which states: “South Africa has taken aggressive positions towards the United States and its allies, including accusing Israel, not Hamas, of genocide in the International Court of Justice, and reinvigorating its relations with Iran to develop commercial, military and nuclear arrangements.”
Just three days before, US President Donald Trump signed a national security presidential memorandum “restoring maximum pressure on the government of the Islamic Republic of Iran, denying Iran all paths to a nuclear weapon”.
Daily Maverick asked the US State Department for a response but received only an automatic reply reading “Consistent with President Trump’s Executive Order on Addressing Egregious Actions of the Republic of South Africa, the U.S. Department of State is coordinating with the Department of Homeland Security to promote and prioritize humanitarian relief, including consideration of eligibility for admission and resettlement to the United States for Afrikaners in South Africa who are victims of unjust racial discrimination.
“We appreciate your patience as we await further instructions on the implementation of the executive order. We will share more information as it becomes available.”
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Daily Maverick also contacted the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the Iranian embassy in South Africa for comment, but no responses had been received by the time of publication.
Reuters reported on Monday that the office of President Cyril Ramaphosa said that Pretoria has no bilateral cooperation with Iran on nuclear power or any nuclear-related technology.
Speaking to the news outlet, Minister of Mineral and Petroleum Resources Gwede Mantashe also refused to rule out Iran and Russia as potential vendor countries for South Africa’s plan to expand its nuclear energy capacity.
“We can’t have a contract that says Iran or Russia must not bid, we can’t have that condition,” Mantashe was quoted as saying.
When asked about the claim, Chrispin Phiri, the spokesperson for the Department of International Relations and Cooperation, said: “It’s preposterous. We do not believe that nuclear weapons have a place in our world. South Africa values its cooperation with the international community to prevent the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and their means of delivery, including in response to information regarding potential proliferation activities, transgressions of UN Security Council sanctions.”
He added that the US government had not provided any evidence to support its claim of nuclear collaboration between South Africa and Iran.
Phiri, however, did not respond to questions about the nature of South Africa’s broader diplomatic and commercial engagements with Iran, particularly in the energy and defence sectors.
Asked by Daily Maverick how South Africa ensures that its international partnerships, including those with Iran, remain compliant with its commitments under the nuclear non-proliferation treaty and IAEA regulations, Phiri did not provide a response. DM