South Africa has launched a formal Board of Inquiry to investigate whether its military ignored an order from President Cyril Ramaphosa regarding Iranian participation in the "Will for Peace 2026" naval drills. Despite reports that Ramaphosa—acting as Commander-in-Chief—ordered Iranian vessels to be excluded to avoid further straining ties with the Trump administration, Iranian warships were still seen in nearly waters where the drills off the coast of Cape Town. Washington has slammed the drills, and has been currently weighing South Africa's eligibility for the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), which provides vital duty-free trade access. Domestic pressure is also mounting; the Democratic Alliance (DA) has called for an urgent parliamentary debate into the matter. --- South Africa Iran Naval Drills | Ramaphosa Military Order Ignored | Will For Peace 2026 Exercise | Iranian Warships Cape Town | South Africa US Tensions | Firstpost Africa | Joshua Barnes | Africa | Global South | Geopolitics | Military Coup | Environment | Climate Change | Firstpost | News Live | World News | Latest News | Global News | International News | News | Trending News #southafrica #ramaphosa #iran #navaldrills #willforpeace2026#firstpostafrica #africa #joshuabarnes #globalsouth #militarycoup #firstpost #newslive #worldnews #latestnews #globalnews #news #internationalnews #trendingnews Firstpost is an Indian news and media website. Get all the incisive opinions, in-depth analyses and other visual stories that matter to you and the world right here on this channel. Subscribe to Firstpost channel and press the bell icon to get notified when we go live. https://www.youtube.com/@Firstpost Follow Firstpost on Website: https://www.firstpost.com Follow Firstpost on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/firstpost/ Follow Firstpost on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/firstpostin/ Follow Firstpost on X: https://twitter.com/firstpost Follow Firstpost on WhatsApp: https://www.whatsapp.com/channel/0029Va6zOIrEQIamseyg762V