President Cyril Ramaphosa has urged dialogue to end the ongoing Israel-Iran conflict, with the hope that US President Donald Trump will use his government’s “influence” to urge parties to pursue a dialogue path in resolving the dispute.

The US military joined Israel’s onslaught on Iran over the weekend, attacking Iran's nuclear facilities, when at least three strategic Iranian nuclear sites; Natanz, Isfahan, and Fordow, were struck.

South Africa urged the US, Israel, and Iran to give the United Nations the “opportunity and space” to lead a peaceful resolution through inspection and verification of Iran's status of uranium enrichment, as well as its broader nuclear capacity.

The GOOD Party called out the US bombing of Iranian nuclear sites as a breach of international law that had “dangerously escalated tensions”.

GOOD secretary-general Brett Herron said as a global superpower, the US should be working to prevent conflict, not inflame it, echoing Ramaphosa’s call for an immediate ceasefire and a peaceful resolution to the growing conflict in the Middle East.

“We support [Ramaphosa’s] call for the United Nations to lead a process of dialogue and de-escalation, particularly in the Israel-Iran conflict, which now risks triggering a broader regional war with catastrophic consequences.

“The international community must end the selective application of international law. Global leaders must act with urgency, consistency, and integrity to stop these wars. The pursuit of peace must be principled and grounded in human rights for all,” Herron said.

He noted Israel’s so-called pre-emptive strike on Iran, coupled with the ongoing genocidal assault on Gaza, which he said had been met largely with silence or implicit approval by world leaders.

He said this crisis was as a result of decades of impunity, double standards, and what he called the international community’s repeated failure to confront Israel’s system of apartheid and its violations of international law.

“The blockade of Gaza, the mass displacement of Palestinians, and the deliberate targeting of civilians are part of a long-standing pattern of occupation and oppression,” he stated.

ACCOUNTABILITY

The uMkhonto WeSizwe Party (MKP) called on the international community, especially the African Union, BRICS nations and the Non-Aligned Movement, to reject the “new cycle of militarism” and unilateral attacks on sovereign nations.

As Iran defends itself, there must be a reopening of diplomatic channels and full accountability for the lives lost and infrastructure destroyed, the party said.

The MKP unequivocally condemned the “reckless and unlawful” US military attack on Iran's nuclear facilities, saying this was not defence but a declaration of war against the Iranian people.

“American officials, without shame or restraint, confirmed these strikes as deliberate and coordinated. President Donald Trump described the attacks as ‘successful’, a chilling reminder of how easily Western leaders disguise destruction as diplomacy. The USA feigned diplomacy and struck in the dark,” said MKP national spokesperson Nhlamulo Ndhlela.

The party recalled the 2003 US invasion of Iraq over “so-called” weapons of mass destruction that cost millions of lives.

“Today, as then, Western intelligence agencies and media outlets manufacture narratives designed to justify these attacks and this unprovoked war that is rather an imperial intervention. Then it was Baghdad. Now it is Tehran,” stated Ndhlela.

The MKP expressed concerns that this act of war may plunge the region and the world into deeper chaos by closing the strategic trade shipping routes and risk of unclear escalation.

“…it risks mass civilian causalities and irreversible damage to global peace efforts,” it warned.