A group of 160 lawyers, in a letter to the US Secretary of State, the Department of Justice, and the leaders of the US Congress, requested an investigation into the alleged receipt of bribes by South African leaders from the Islamic Republic.
In this letter, which was published in the Jerusalem Post on Thursday, US officials are urged to investigate the alleged payment of bribes by Iran to the African National Congress (ANC) party, which holds the majority of seats in the National Assembly and leads the government.
The letter alleges that officials of the ANC received bribes from Iran to pay the party's debts in exchange for agreeing to accuse Israel of genocide in the Gaza Strip at the International Court of Justice.
The authors of the letter highlight numerous meetings between officials of the Islamic Republic and South Africa, especially after the October 7 attack by Hamas on Israel.
The letter reveals a series of events that began in October 2023, shortly after the outbreak of the war, when South African Foreign Minister Naledi Pandor traveled to Iran to meet with the President of the Republic to discuss the Israel-Hamas war.
Less than two months later, in December, South Africa filed a complaint against Israel in the ICJ.
In January, despite well-known crippling financial difficulties within the ANC, the party surprisingly announced that its finances had been stabilized, according to the Jerusalem Post.
Less than two months after South Africa's foreign minister met with officials of the Islamic Republic in Tehran, South Africa filed a genocide case against Israel in the International Court of Justice.
The letter asserts that the ANC has acted as a diplomatic proxy for the Islamic Republic against Israel by accepting bribes.
Tehran authorities and the ruling party in South Africa have not yet responded to this letter.
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