In an interview with the website of the Strategic Council on Foreign Relations regarding Donald Trump’s announcement to remove South Africa from the G20 summit, which is scheduled to be held in Miami next year, Javid Ghorbanoghli said: “The announcement of South Africa’s removal from the G20 is an irrational move. The United States is one member of this group. The decision of one country, no matter how influential and powerful, cannot serve as the basis for removing a country from this assembly. In other words, this requires a decision based on the criteria and mechanisms for the formation of this group, not on any of its members. Moreover, Trump’s decision is reactive and passive, a response to South Africa’s success in hosting the 2025 summit. According to observers, the South African government demonstrated that it has the necessary infrastructure to host and ensure security, and that its officials are capable of planning such a summit coherently and efficiently. Perhaps Trump thought that by reducing the level of his country’s participation in this summit, he would force South Africa to retreat from its political positions, especially regarding the Israeli regime, but this did not happen.”
Regarding the political roots of Trump’s decision, he stated: “The reason for Trump’s decision stems from his narcissism. Trump’s treatment of Mr. Ramaphosa, the President of South Africa, during his recent trip to America was very contemptuous. Essentially, in Trump’s mindset, Africa and Third World countries hold a very low status. Trump’s behavior even toward his allies reflects a top-down perspective. The way he sat in the Oval Office during meetings with European leaders is perhaps the most contemptuous diplomatic behavior in the history of transatlantic relations, or his belittling of the Prime Minister of Canada, which even provoked reactions from political parties in that country. However, from a political and legal perspective, this decision is in line with the efforts of the heavy lobbying by the Israeli regime and in response to South Africa’s highly impactful legal action at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) against the Zionist regime and the condemnation of this regime and its criminal leaders.”
Ghorbanoghli added: “South Africa’s action against the Israeli regime at the Hague Court was unprecedented in the 77-year history of this sinister regime, which is full of crime, occupation, and genocide, and it is natural that American officials do not favor it.”
Potential Consequences of Pressure from the U.S. and the Israeli Regime
Ghorbanoghli emphasized: “The U.S. and the Israeli regime will increase political and economic pressure on Pretoria. The extent to which this pressure changes South Africa’s behavior depends on numerous factors. The framework of post-apartheid South African policy is anti-Western and based on supporting movements that backed the current leaders during the anti-apartheid struggle. Palestine holds a high status among South African officials and politicians.”
He continued: “Of course, since the change in the political system and the establishment of a non-racial system in South Africa (1994), the country has witnessed many changes in the realm of governance. For the first time in the past 30 years, the African National Congress (ANC) is no longer the unchallenged ruling party. In last year’s elections, after losing parliamentary seats, it was forced to form a coalition with the most significant opposition party. Westerners have high hopes for further erosion in the support base of Nelson Mandela’s party and aspire to influence the layers of politics and governance in this country through other parties, which requires the ANC to review its fight against corruption.”
Regarding South Africa’s possible reaction to Donald Trump’s decision to remove it from the G20 summit in 2026, Iran’s former ambassador to South Africa said: “Answering this question is somewhat difficult. South Africa’s economic situation is not good. Daily power outages lasting several hours and the hardships faced by the lower classes, who are traditional supporters of the ANC, have put the country’s leaders under pressure. Additionally, in the political arena, Pretoria no longer experiences single-party governance. Twelve members of the current cabinet (6 ministers and six deputy ministers) are from opposition parties. This means that Mr. Ramaphosa must consider the coalition government party’s reaction when making political decisions. Furthermore, even within the ANC, we see disagreements among factions; therefore, a strong reaction from the country’s leaders is unlikely. On the other hand, it is unlikely that pressure from the U.S. and the Israeli regime will cause Pretoria to retreat from its position of supporting Palestine or its stance at the ICJ, which the Israeli regime desires.”
Ghorbanoghli concluded: “Of course, South Africa’s resistance approach, coupled with increasing U.S. pressure, especially in the tariff system and sanctions against South African companies, will certainly pose serious challenges for the country.”
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