MTN under siege
MTN has successfully dismissed one court case about its role in funding the Taliban, but remains embroiled in four active lawsuits involving the U.S. Anti-Terrorism Act.
On Monday, MTN reported receiving a favourable ruling in the U.S. courts on 25 September 2025, which dismissed a complaint brought by war veterans and their families.
Their complaint pertained to MTN’s former operations in Syria and echoed several similar cases brought against the company regarding its former Afghanistan subsidiary and its ongoing operations in Iran.
Among the allegations brought against MTN was that it paid protection money to the Taliban for the security of its towers, thereby financing terrorist activity and causing the deaths of U.S. military personnel.
MTN explained that the complaint pertaining to Syria was filed on 28 July 2023, on behalf of four additional plaintiffs who were not previously included in other U.S. Anti-terrorism Act cases.
The case contained the same core allegations as previous ones, and MTN had previously stated that it had filed a Motion to Dismiss on jurisdictional grounds.
“MTN has deep sympathy for those who have been injured or lost loved ones as a result of the tragic conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan,” it said.
“The Group conducts its business in a responsible and compliant manner in all its territories and will defend its position where necessary.”
MTN said the proceedings will now continue only in relation to the claims that have not been dismissed.
“These primarily relate to MTN’s former subsidiary in Afghanistan and its minority, non-controlling investment in Iran.”
In addition to the civil cases, MTN Group disclosed in August that it was under investigation by a U.S. Department of Justice grand jury regarding Irancell and its former subsidiary in Afghanistan.
“MTN has been approached, through its external US counsel, regarding a DoJ grand jury investigation,” the company said in its half-year financial results.
“MTN is cooperating with the DoJ and voluntarily responding to requests for information. The Company will update the market as appropriate on any material developments in the matter.”
Project Snooker
In addition to terrorism financing allegations, MTN has also been accused of bribing Iranian officials to obtain the country’s first cellular network licence in 2004.
Rival bidder Turkcell claimed that MTN bribed officials, arranged meetings for Iran with South African leaders, and promised Iran weapons and United Nations votes in exchange for the Irancell deal.
Court documents filed in the United States show that MTN referred to Iran as “Snooker” and its Iranian expansion as “Project Snooker”.
Among Turkcell’s allegations were that MTN had helped fund the travel of Iran’s nuclear negotiator to meet former President Thabo Mbeki in South Africa.
This allegedly led to South Africa abstaining from an International Atomic Energy Agency vote declaring Iran non-compliant with the Non-Proliferation Treaty.
MTN has denied facilitating such meetings, bribing officials, or having any influence over South African government policy.
Turkcell’s original dispute with MTN is ongoing through its subsidiary, the East Asian Consortium (EAC). When they filed the case in South Africa, they sought damages of $4.2 billion (R75 billion), excluding interest.
The Supreme Court of Appeal recently ruled that South African courts could hear some of EAC’s complaints. MTN has applied for leave to appeal in the Constitutional Court.
Geopolitical storm
While MTN has faced allegations of bribery, corruption, and enabling terrorist activity since 2012, the mobile operator now finds itself entwined in a larger geopolitical storm.
U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order in February 2025 that mentioned South Africa’s “reinvigorated” relations with Iran and genocide accusations against Israel.
The order stated that South Africa and Iran were developing commercial, military, and nuclear arrangements — allegations that SANDF General Rudzani Maphwanya’s recent visit to Iran did not assuage.
Iran’s potential nuclear capabilities are a sensitive subject for the U.S. It bombed three Iranian nuclear facilities in June 2025.
In February 2025, following Trump’s executive order, the group CEO of the South African Nuclear Energy Corporation, Loyiso Tyabashe, denied claims of nuclear cooperation between South Africa and Iran.
In addition to South Africa’s relationship with Iran, Trump’s executive order also criticised South Africa for bringing genocide charges against Israel, and not Hamas, at the International Court of Justice (ICJ).
The order stated that the United States could not support the South African government undermining U.S. foreign policy, as it posed threats to national security, its allies, its African partners, and its interests.
Following the executive order, the Trump administration announced that it intended to impose 30% tariffs on South African imports to the country as part of the U.S. President’s “Liberation Day” plan.
That same month, on 14 April 2025, Ramaphosa appointed MTN chairman Mcebisi Jonas as special envoy to the U.S., with the mission to mend fences with the Trump administration.
Jonas was appointed after former U.S. ambassador Ebrahim Rasool was expelled from the country for saying Trump and the MAGA movement were partly the result of a “supremacist instinct” during a webinar.
However, Jonas’ appointment was quickly criticised. Although he has a sterling reputation as a State Capture whistleblower, he had previously made disparaging remarks about Donald Trump.
As the keynote speaker at the annual Ahmed Kathrada Lecture in 2020, Jonas referred to Trump as a “racist, homophobic, and narcissistic right-winger.”
MTN chairman Mcebisi Jonas responds
Following his appointment and the resurfacing of his comments, Jonas told Radio 702 that he was not in government at the time and speaking as an activist. He also suggested that his views had evolved.
Five weeks later, Ramaphosa led a delegation to Washington, where he met with Trump in a publicly broadcast meeting with government officials, celebrities, and businessmen in attendance.
Notably, Jonas was absent. It would later emerge that the U.S. had denied Jonas’ visa and rejected his diplomatic credentials.
Although Jonas has generally refrained from commenting on the situation, he broke his silence in an August 2025 interview with the Sunday Times.
Jonas reportedly said his work as special envoy was different from that of a diplomat and more behind-the-scenes.
He said the attacks against him were a dirty tricks campaign of “defamatory allegations and treasonous actions of certain South Africans that must be challenged”.
Jonas said the scale of the information war being waged was much larger than even the Guptas had launched with PR firm Bell Pottinger to distract from their cosy relationship with former president Jacob Zuma.
That campaign had infamously used fake Twitter accounts to stir up racial tension by weaponising fringe terms like “white monopoly capital”.
“The nefarious characters involved, their command of resources and their stranglehold over decision-making in South Africa under their cloak of legitimacy make the Bell Pottinger project look like a Sunday school picnic,” Jonas said.
“These non-state actors have appointed themselves as spokespeople and negotiators on behalf of South Africa to service certain political and business interests.”
Jonas said the people behind the campaign were attempting to usurp authority over South Africa’s foreign policy.
“They prey on the issues that divide us and our internal weaknesses to render South Africa a pariah state,” he said.
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