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South Africans are drawing striking parallels between Apartheid-era propaganda and today’s war on Iran narrative, rejecting the recycled ‘terrorist’ label.
BY SAYED RIDHWAAN MOHAMED
For those who lived through the 1980s in South Africa, the recent media frenzy surrounding the 2026 conflict with Iran feels hauntingly familiar.
During the height of the anti-Apartheid struggle, the term ‘terrorist’ was the default label used by the state and its Western allies to delegitimise the African National Congress (ANC) and any movement challenging the status quo. Fast forward to 2026, and that same script is being dusted off to frame the Islamic Republic of Iran not as a sovereign state acting under international law, but as a ‘state sponsor of terror’. However, as a recent historic briefing in Cape Town demonstrated, South Africans are not so easily fooled by recycled propaganda.
A public briefing in the face of ‘secret’ narratives
On Wednesday, March 18, 2026, the Cape Town Ulama Board hosted a diplomatic briefing featuring Ambassador Mansour Shakib Mehr, Iran’s envoy to South Africa. Held at the Cape Heritage Museum at the Castle of Good Hope, the event was a transparent platform for media, religious leaders and community activists.
The gathering brought together representatives from 56 organisations, serving as a direct counter-narrative to the Western media’s ‘state sponsor of terror’ script. The session provided firsthand insight into Iran’s perspective on resisting what was termed ‘international aggression’ and ‘complex regional dynamics’.
The legality of resistance vs the label of terror
Ambassador Shakib Mehr framed Iran’s military actions as a legal necessity under Article 51 of the United Nations Charter. He emphasised that exercising this right to self-defence is intended to protect national security and sovereignty, not to seek revenge.
‘The aggressive and illegal war… happened while Iran was for the second time actively and in good faith engaging in diplomatic talks to prevent escalation and strengthen regional peace. Iran seriously followed the diplomatic path and did everything necessary to prevent war. A military attack in the middle of diplomacy is a betrayal of dialogue.’
The Ambassador further noted that Iran’s response is directed at ‘US military bases and assets’ rather than the land of its neighbours.
Providing the moral and spiritual grounding for the session, Mufti Sayed Haroon Al-Azhari, President of the Cape Town Ulama Board, challenged the very foundation of the modern media narrative. He focused on the moral obligation of all people to resist global oppression, asserting that ‘no nation stands above another nation and no voice is too small to be heard’.
The Mufti was explicit in his rejection of Western portrayals of the conflict. ‘We stand against the unjust attack of USA and Israel against Iran and all that oppression all over the world, and we stand for justice,’ he declared, framing the current struggle as a battle for the truth itself. He noted that while imperial powers previously controlled the media through propaganda, today ‘the truth is out there’ and ‘people know the reality’. He further linked this spirit of resistance to the local struggle, noting that even Nelson Mandela took strength from historical figures of resistance, such as Imam Hussain, in the fight against the zalim (oppressors).
Echoes of 1980s propaganda
Other local leaders identified clear parallels between current events and South Africa’s own history. Muhammad Khalid Sayed, the Leader of the Opposition in the Western Cape Provincial Legislature, reminded the audience that the ANC has a relationship with the people of Iran dating back to the struggle against the Apartheid regime. He characterised the targeting of civilian infrastructure as war crimes that must be investigated by the International Criminal Court (ICC).
Similarly, anti-Apartheid activist the Reverend Dr Allan Boesak linked the current aggression to the days of the UDF, when Muslims, Christians and people of no faith stood together against a common enemy. He described the aggression against Iran as ‘nothing short of a genocide being carried out in the name of security’. These leaders see the strikes on Iran as an echo of the tactics used to suppress South Africa’s freedom: collective punishment, assassinations and the criminalisation of resistance.
Hegemony and the expendable life
The briefing addressed the underlying systemic motives for these conflicts. Shaykh Ihsaan Taliep emphasised how human lives – particularly ‘brown human lives’ – are treated as expendable in the pursuit of ‘economic hegemony and economic oppression’. He called for a unified ‘axis of resistance’ against colonisation and white supremacy.
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This sentiment was echoed by Imraan Moosa, a Member of Parliament for Al Jama-ah. He argued that the continuous bombardment of cities is a ‘humanitarian issue’ driven by power and enrichment of land. He noted that the US and Israel ‘ignore total international law’ while the world stands by and does nothing.
While some media outlets continue to push the ‘terrorist’ script to manufacture consent for illegal wars, South African activists and community members are using their historical perspective to flush that script away. By recognising the ‘Apartheid tactics’ of the 1980s in today’s headlines, they are refusing to let the smokescreens of hegemony hide the truth of global resistance. As Mufti Sayed Haroon Al-Azhari concluded, the days of total media control are over; in 2026, the global community stands ready to defend the truth with integrity.
