Trump's stance against South Africa is not just about white farmers. It's also about Hamas and Iran

CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP) — U.S. President Donald Trump's claim this week that there is an unreported “genocide” happening against white farmers in South Africa was his harshest accusation yet against a country he moved to punish over a range of issues soon after returning to office.

Trump's criticism has focused mostly on his allegations that South Africa's government is fueling anti-white racism in the majority Black country, leading to the killing of white farmers. That has been denied by the South African government.

But Trump has also strongly criticized South Africa's foreign policy, and especially its decision to take Israel to the United Nations' top court and accuse it of genocide against Palestinians in Gaza.

Trump has cited that case against a U.S. ally as an example of what he referred to as a larger anti-American position from South Africa. The U.S. president has now accused South Africa, once a key partner in Africa, of the same crime of genocide.

South Africa launched its highly contentious genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice in early 2024, putting a developing nation that's not a diplomatic heavyweight at the forefront of the pro-Palestinian movement at an especially divisive time. South Africa's decision caused tensions with the U.S. under the Biden administration and other Western countries, which rejected the accusation that Israel was committing genocide.

But Trump's reaction has been much stronger, citing the case against Israel in an executive order on Feb. 7 that sanctioned South Africa and stopped all U.S. aid and assistance. The order said South Africa had taken “aggressive positions towards the United States and its allies” and the case showed its support for the Palestinian militant group Hamas.

The U.S. government under Trump has also cracked down on pro-Palestinian or anti-Israel protests at home.

South Africa has long been a supporter of the Palestinian people and a critic of Israel. But while the government has attempted to draw a line between that and any support for Hamas, the distinctions have become blurred, like when the grandson of former South African President Nelson Mandela hosted Hamas officials on a visit to South Africa in 2023.

Hamas is designated as a terrorist organization by the U.S., the European Union, the U.K. and others.

Trump's executive order also accused South Africa of strengthening its ties with Iran through commercial, military and nuclear arrangements. South Africa holds diplomatic ties with Iran but said it does not have any agreements with Iran over nuclear weapons, though it is allowing Iran to bid, alongside other countries, for a commercial contract to build a nuclear reactor to provide electricity.

South Africa's Institute for Security Studies, a nonprofit research institute, said that Trump was "overreacting" to South Africa's relationship with Iran, but South Africa “also shouldn’t be surprised if they are judged by the company they keep.”

The U.S. has decided to effectively boycott South Africa's presidency of the Group of 20 developed and developing nations this year, the first time an African nation has held the rotating presidency.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio skipped a G20 foreign ministers meeting in Johannesburg in February, saying South Africa's theme of “solidarity, equality and sustainability” was effectively DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion) and climate change and he wouldn't waste American taxpayer money on it. The Trump administration has moved to dismantle DEI programs in the U.S.

Shortly after Rubio skipped the meeting, the Trump administration suspended all cooperation with South Africa related to its hosting of G20 events, according to a U.S. official.

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss internal administration deliberations, said the decision was because Trump does not support South Africa's G20 agenda. The official said the move would not affect the U.S.'s presidency of the G20 next year.

The rebuff by the U.S. will likely undermine South Africa's efforts to make progress on issues it has prioritized for its presidency.

The Trump administration brought more than 50 white South Africans to the U.S. this week as refugees, saying they are members of the minority Afrikaner group and are being persecuted by their Black-led government and exposed to race-based violence.

South Africa says it condemns the relatively small number of killings of white farmers, but the cause is being mischaracterized and they are a result of its problems with violent crime and not racially motivated.

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has not criticized Trump directly but said the U.S. president is being fed false information by some Afrikaner lobby groups in South Africa and some conservative commentators in the U.S. who have elevated the issue.

Ramaphosa's office said he will meet with Trump at the White House next week in an attempt to "reset" the countries' relationship.

Associated Press writer Matthew Lee contributed to this story from Washington.

Young Afrikaner refugees from South Africa holding American flags arrive, Monday, May 12, 2025, at Dulles International Airport in Dulles, Va. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

FILE - South African President Cyril Ramaphosa addresses the opening session of the G20 foreign ministers meeting in Johannesburg, South Africa, Thursday, Feb. 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay,File)

Afrikaner refugees from South Africa holding American flags arrive, Monday, May 12, 2025, at Dulles International Airport in Dulles, Va. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

President Donald Trump applauds on stage at the Al Udeid Air Base, Thursday, May 15, 2025, in Doha, Qatar. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

NEW YORK (AP) — Wall Street is hanging near its records on Tuesday following a mixed start to the latest profit reporting season for big U.S. companies. An update on inflation is meanwhile offering little momentum, either upward or downward, after coming in close to expectations.

The S&P 500 edged down by 0.1% after drifting between small gains and losses during the morning. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 287 points, or 0.6%, as of 11:45 a.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was up 0.1%. Both the S&P 500 and Dow are coming off all-time highs.

U.S. companies are under pressure to deliver strong growth in profits for the last three months of 2025 to justify the record-breaking runs for their stock prices. Analysts expect companies in the S&P 500 to deliver overall earnings per share that are 8.3% higher than a year earlier, according to FactSet.

JPMorgan Chase helped kick off the latest reporting season by delivering weaker profit and revenue than analysts expected. Its stock fell 3.1% and was one of the heaviest weights on the market, but the shortfall may have been partly because some analysts hadn't updated their estimates to account for the earnings hit taken due to the bank's purchase of the Apple Card credit card portfolio.

CEO Jamie Dimon sounded relatively optimistic about the U.S. economy, saying “consumers continue to spend, and businesses generally remain healthy.”

Delta Air Lines lost 3.2% despite reporting a stronger profit for the end of 2025 than analysts expected. Its revenue came up short of Wall Street’s expectations, as did the midpoint of its forecasted range for profit in 2026.

Chipotle Mexican Grill fell 3% after saying it's looking for a new chief marketing officer, a move that analysts said was a surprise.

On the winning side of Wall Street were several health care companies after they raised their financial forecasts at an industry conference with analysts.

Moderna jumped 12.1% for the biggest gain in the S&P 500 after saying it expects to report revenue for 2025 that's above the midpoint of the range it had forecast in November. It also offered updates on several products, including a seasonal flu vaccine that could see potential approvals beginning later this year.

Revvity rose 4.6% after life sciences company said it expects to report profit for 2025 that's above the top end of the forecasted range it had earlier given. Its forecast for revenue in the fourth quarter also topped analysts' expectations.

Outside of health care, L3Harris Technologies rose 2.2% after the defense company said it’s planning to break off its Missile Solutions business into a separate company through an initial public offering. As part of the plan, the U.S. government agreed to invest $1 billion in the business, which will convert into common stock in the IPO.

L3 Harris will keep a controlling interest in the Missile Solutions business following the IPO.

In the bond market, yields held relatively steady after Tuesday's inflation report strengthened expectations that the Federal Reserve may be able to cut its main interest rate at least twice in 2026 to shore up the job market.

Lower interest rates could make borrowing cheaper for U.S. households and boost prices for investments, but they could also worsen inflation at the same time. Tuesday’s report showed that U.S. consumers paid prices last month for gasoline, food and other costs of living that were 2.7% higher overall than a year earlier. That’s a touch worse than economists expected and above the Fed’s 2% target for inflation.

But, more encouragingly, an important underlying trend of inflation wasn’t as bad last month as economists expected. That could give the Fed more leeway to lower interest rates later.

“We’ve seen this movie before—inflation isn’t reheating, but it remains above target,” according to Ellen Zentner, chief economic strategist for Morgan Stanley Wealth Management.

The data helped the 10-year Treasury ease to 4.18% from 4.19% late Monday. The two-year Treasury yield, which more closely tracks expectations for what the Fed will do, inched down to 3.53% from 3.54%.

A day earlier, Treasury yields swung amid worries about the Federal Reserve's worsening feud with President Donald Trump. The concern is that the president's attacks on the Fed could result in a central bank that's less independent and more subservient to the White House. Experts say that in turn could lead to higher inflation over the long term.

In stock markets abroad, indexes were mixed in Europe and Asia.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 soared 3.1% for one of the world’s biggest moves and set a record, thanks in part to gains for technology-related stocks.

Investors expect Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, who took office in October, to try to capitalize on her relatively high popularity to call a snap election, hoping to strengthen her mandate for higher government spending.

AP Business Writers Chan Ho-him and Matt Ott contributed.

Trader Robert Finnerty Jr., foreground, works with colleagues on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

Trader Sal Suarino works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

Specialist Meric Greenbaum works at his post on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

A pair of traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

A dealer walks near the screens showing the foreign exchange rates at a dealing room of Hana Bank in Seoul, South Korea, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

A person walks in front of an electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei index at a securities firm Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026, in Tokyo. (Kyodo News via AP)