DA warns Tshwane Municipality that turning city hall into Iranian complex will worsen SA's relationship with US

Thabiso Goba
28 July 2025 | 15:11The Iranian embassy has approached the municipality over the possibility of handing over the city hall to it, which has not been in operation for about a decade.
Tshwane City Hall. Picture: Google Maps
JOHANNESBURG - The Democratic Alliance (DA) in Tshwane has warned the municipality that turning the abandoned city hall into an Iranian complex would cause further deterioration in South Africa’s relationship with the US.
The Iranian embassy has approached the municipality over the possibility of handing over the city hall to it, which has not been in operation for about a decade.
The embassy said it wanted to build Iranian restaurants, a museum and a library in the hall, which would generate economic opportunity for the city.
While the municipality said it was still considering the offer from Iran, the DA’s caucus leader, Cillier Brink, said it should be immediately rejected.
"Thousands of South African jobs, especially in the automotive industry, especially here in Pretoria, depend on South Africa’s trade relationship with the USA. Currently, there ought to be critical negotiations to shore up the trading relationship between our countries, so it is astounding that the City of Tshwane, the capital city of South Africa, would consider giving over a historical building such as the city hall to the Embassy of Iran, a country whose cozy relationship with the ANC is already contributing to the damage between the SA-USA relationship."
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