Diplomatic tensions between Washington and Pretoria increase. On Friday, the American State Department declared the South African ambassador to the United States, Hebrahim Rasoolas a “non -grateful person”.
“Hebrahim Rasool He is a political instigator of racism that hates America and hates the president Donald Trump“, Said the American secretary of state, Marco Rubio. “We have nothing to discuss with him and therefore he is considered a non -grateful person,” he added. The diplomat will therefore have to leave the country by March 21, while the South African president, Cyril RamaphosaWashington’s move as “deplorable” has branded. In the post in which he announced his decision, Rubio has attached an article by Breitbart Newswhich reported some statements of Razorsin which the person concerned connected the movement of Trump to suprematism.
The diplomatic tension between Pretoria and Washington is not born today. Problems had already occurred last month, when the White House had criticized a controversial law which, signed by Ramaphosaallows you to expropriation of land without compensation in certain circumstances: i.e. when this is considered “right, fair and in the public interest”. Trump He had expressed opposition to the norm, accusing Pretoria of “confiscating lands and of treating certain categories of people very badly”. Words, those of the tenant of the White House, which they had in turn irritated Ramaphosa. In this climate, always last month, Rubio He had refused to participate in the G20 summit organized in Johannesburg. In those same days, Trump He had also signed an executive order, blocking American assistance in Pretoria. And be careful: the relationship between the United States and South Africa had already started to spoil at the time of the Biden administration. In 2023, the latter had in fact accused the country of providing armaments to Russia.
On the other hand, at the basis of the fibrillations between Trump And South Africa are various geopolitical issues. First of all, the White House fears the increasingly narrow ties of Pretoria with Beijing and Moscow. Recall that, at the end of January, the American president had threatened to impose heavy duties at the Brics, if the latter had continued in their intent of de-dollarization. Secondly, let’s not forget that, in December 2023, South Africa had accused Israel of Genocide in Gaza before the International Court of Justice: a move that evidently the Trump administration considers very problematic. Another thorny point in the eyes of the White House is represented by the strengthening of the relationships between Pretoria and Tehran. Not surprisingly, Trumpin his decree in which he blocked aid to South Africa, he explicitly mentioned both his cause against Israel and his ever closer relationships with Iran.
