South Africa’s army chief has been criticised after he reportedly pledged military and political support to Iran during a recent visit to the country.

Members of South Africa’s governing coalition have accused General Rudzani Maphwanya of “reckless grandstanding”, while President Cyril Ramaphosa confirmed he would meet the general to discuss his “ill-advised” trip.

The row comes as South Africa navigates tense relations with the US, which has taken exception to the country’s ties with Iran, among other issues.

The Democratic Alliance, part of South Africa government, called for Gen Maphwanya to be “court-martialled”.

It said his comments had gone “beyond military-to-military discussions and entered the realm of foreign policy”.

South Africa’s defence department labelled the general’s remarks “unfortunate” while Ramaphosa’s spokesperson Vincent Magwenya said the president didn’t know about the trip or sanction it.

“The visit was ill-advised and more so, the expectation is that the general should have been a lot more circumspect with the comments he makes,” Mr Magwenya told reporters during a briefing on Thursday.

Gen Maphwanya, who was in Iran solely for a military trip, has since returned home, Mr Magwenya added.