General Rudzani Maphwanya, Chief of the South African National Defence Force (SANDF), met in Tehran with an array of Iran’s top military leadership, including its defence minister, in a calculated affront to Washington. The departments of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO) and Defence (DoD) are now scrambling to disclaim his anti-US rhetoric, even as he publicly committed South Africa to joint military ventures with a pariah state. Such denials should be taken with a generous pinch of salt. It is simply inconceivable that Maphwanya acted without the blessing of both departments and of the Presidency itself. A visit of this sensitivity and provocation could only proceed with political clearance from the Presidency, procedural sign-off from DIRCO, and clear operational parameters from the DoD. That it went ahead, just as President Cyril Ramaphosa is trying to coax Donald Trump into softening tariffs and ‘resetting’ relations with the US, makes it not just reckless but an act of defiance. Maphwanya’s actions are extraordinary for the head of a military in a democracy. If the trip was unsanctioned and Maphwanya’s statements were not pre-approved, the implications are grave. As Chief of the SANDF, such unilateral actions would amount to a direct military intrusion into civilian affairs of near-treasonous proportions. Immediate dismissal and possible cashiering from the SANDF would be justified.