Delay in Iran probe report raises questions over military accountability

President Cyril Ramaphosa has not received the board of inquiry’s report into Iran’s involvement in Exercise Will for Peace 2026, despite an earlier promise that the panel would report shortly after it was established.

Panel moved under Presidency, deadline missed

The probe was announced in January by Defence Minister Angie Motshekga and in February was removed from the Department of Defence and placed under the direct authority of the Presidency. The panel is led by Justice Bernard Ngoepe.

The Presidency initially said the panel would finish its work and report to the president within one month of its establishment. In response to parliamentary questions from DA MP Chris Hattingh, Ramaphosa said he has not received the report and that “the panel is expected to finish its work within six months of its establishment.”

Ramaphosa added that “the president may, on compelling cause shown, extend the period of the panel’s proceedings.”

Parliamentary pressure over chain of command

Hattingh told reporters he was “shocked” the panel had not produced a report. He said the Constitution vests supreme command of the SANDF in the president and argued that “if his instruction was ignored, South Africans deserve to know. If it was not, the president should say so unequivocally.”

“The authority of the Commander-in-Chief is not negotiable, civilian control of the military is not optional, and accountability cannot be delayed indefinitely,”

Hattingh said the matter concerned the constitutional principle of civilian control over the military and that basic command-and-control facts should have been established quickly. He said Parliament still does not know who authorised Iran’s participation, why the president’s instruction was allegedly not implemented, or who is accountable.

Scope and powers of the inquiry

Ramaphosa told Parliament the panel “will investigate and make recommendations in relation to the circumstances surrounding the exercise, the factors that may have contributed to the failure to observe the president’s order, the person or persons responsible, and the consequences to follow.”

The president said the panel “will have the power to summon any member of the defence force and/or public service it needs, and to request all documents, including classified documents, to fulfil its mandate.”

Ramaphosa also said he may, on the recommendation of the panel and Motshekga, decide whether to publicise all or part of the panel’s outcomes.

Calls for consequence management

ActionSA MP Lerato Ngobeni asked what consequence management steps had been taken against Motshekga for failing to enforce the president’s directive. Ramaphosa’s response pointed to the ongoing panel inquiry as the mechanism to examine responsibility and recommend consequences.

What remains unresolved

As of Ramaphosa’s parliamentary reply, the report had not been received and the timing for its submission remains governed by the panel’s expected six-month period and any extension the president may approve.