Iran - South Africa Relations: Past Trends, Future Prospects

In every country’s policy settings, a realist and reasonable understanding of national power, features of the external environment, the dominant international and regional paradigms as well as environmental vulnerabilities and threats is required. The African continent has turned into a significant region in the aftermath of the cold war and the emergence of the regionalism era. One of the key actors in this continent is South Africa. This article examines the past trends in Iran’s relations with Africa in general, and studies the significance of Iran’s relations with South Africa in particular. The hypothesis is that for Iran, expansion of relations with an emerging regional power like South Africa advances national interests, strengthens south-south relations and reduces international and western pressures. The methodology of this research is one of explanatory-analytical; using the SWOT matrix, the points of strength and weakness of the Islamic Republic is studied with the ultimate aim of presenting solutions to policy-makers in political, social, cultural and economic sectors.