Diplomatic Rift: South Africa Slams US Over Ambassador’s Expulsion

South Africa has called the United States’ decision to expel its ambassador “regrettable,” urging adherence to “diplomatic decorum” in managing relations between the two countries, the presidency said in a statement on Saturday.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced Friday that Ambassador Ebrahim Rasool was no longer welcome in the US, calling him “a race-baiting politician” who harbors hostility toward US President Donald Trump.

“The Presidency has noted the regrettable expulsion of South Africa’s Ambassador to the United States of America, Mr. Ebrahim Rasool,” the statement read, adding, “The Presidency urges all relevant and impacted stakeholders to maintain the established diplomatic decorum in their engagement with the matter.”

Despite the escalating tensions, South Africa reaffirmed its commitment to maintaining a “mutually beneficial relationship” with Washington.

The expulsion of Rasool, a former anti-apartheid activist, further strains relations between the two nations, which have already been tested by Trump’s recent policies. In February, Trump froze US aid to South Africa, claiming a national law enables land seizures from white farmers.

At the time, South Africa’s Foreign Ministry strongly criticized the executive order, calling it factually incorrect and dismissive of the country’s history. “It lacks factual accuracy and fails to recognize South Africa’s profound and painful history of colonialism and apartheid.” 

The executive order has also been linked to South Africa’s international legal action against “Israel.” In January 2024, South Africa filed a case at the ICJ against “Israel” for committing genocide in Gaza. The White House cited this legal challenge as evidence of South Africa’s opposition to Washington and its allies. The order also referenced Pretoria’s ties with Iran, another point of contention in US-South Africa relations.

Trump invites South African farmers to US amid land dispute

Last week, Trump intensified the dispute by stating that South African farmers were welcome to relocate to the US, repeating his allegation that the government was “confiscating” land from white citizens.

US President Donald Trump announced on Truth Social that “any Farmer (with family!) from South Africa, seeking to flee that country for reasons of safety, will be invited into the United States of America with a rapid pathway to Citizenship.”

Declaring South Africa a “bad place to be right now,” Trump said the US would immediately halt all aid to Pretoria.

Tensions between Washington and Pretoria have escalated over South Africa’s land expropriation law, which Trump claims will lead to the seizure of white-owned farms.

The South African presidency swiftly responded, rejecting what it called “counterproductive megaphone diplomacy.”

Trump, whose close ally Elon Musk was born in South Africa, previously stated that the law, signed in January, allows the government to “seize ethnic minority Afrikaners’ agricultural property without compensation.”

However, Trump accused the country of “being terrible, plus, to long time Farmers in the country.”

The legislation permits the government to offer “nil compensation” in certain cases when land is expropriated in the public interest. Supporters argue it addresses historic inequalities, as white landowners still control most farmland three decades after apartheid.