JOHANNESBURG (AP) — The sentiment in South Africa ahead of its leader's meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump at the White House on Wednesday was one of fear and trepidation.
“Into the mouth of Trump hell" was how one newspaper headline described his mission.
South Africans worried that President Cyril Ramaphosa was exposing himself to the kind of public thrashing that Trump and Vice President JD Vance meted out on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in front of the world's media three months ago.
But after being confronted by Trump with baseless allegations that there are widespread killings of white farmers in South Africa — and made to watch a video of a fringe South African politician repeating a chant referring to the killing of white farmers — Ramaphosa seemed to think the Oval Office meeting wasn't that dramatic.
“You wanted to see drama and something big happening,” Ramaphosa said to reporters afterwards. “I’m sorry that we disappointed you somewhat."
Ramaphosa is renowned in his home country as a calm, measured politician who is hardly ever emotional.
He made his name, though, in some of the toughest, highest-profile political negotiations his country has ever faced. Ramaphosa was the African National Congress party's chief negotiator during the talks in the early 1990s that ended the apartheid system of white minority rule that had forced racial segregation on South Africans for nearly a half-century.
After apartheid, he was seen by some as the logical successor to Nelson Mandela as South African president. He missed out but returned to politics more than a decade later and became president in 2018.
Ramaphosa sought out the meeting with Trump in an attempt to correct what he said were mischaracterizations of South Africa by the U.S. — and to negotiate critical new trade deals.
Many South Africans didn't want him to go to the headquarters of an administration that has made serious and false allegations against their country, including that Ramaphosa's government is allowing white farmers to be routinely killed in what Trump has repeatedly called a “genocide."
“I honestly don’t understand why Ramaphosa is actually in the United States when Trump has made it very clear how he feels about South Africa," said college student Dumisani Mnisi in Johannesburg.
Ramaphosa's spokesperson said that the video, the newspaper clippings of farm murders that Trump produced, and the overall confrontation in the Oval Office made for “an orchestrated show for the cameras,” and the real business was the closed-door meeting afterwards.
Ramaphosa said he was pleased after that meeting and listed what he counted as successes to take home from Washington.
He said he thought he had persuaded Trump to attend the Group of 20 summit in South Africa in November after the Trump administration said it would boycott. South Africa will hand over the rotating presidency of the G20 to the U.S. next year. Ramaphosa said he believed he had started to change Trump's mind over South Africa, although he conceded that would probably be “a process.”
Ramaphosa said talks had started on several areas of trade and cooperation.
And he also said the South African delegation had received souvenirs to mark their visit to the White House, and he and Trump had swapped gifts. They gave each other a book.
“So that was good,” Ramaphosa said.
President Donald Trump meets South African President Cyril Ramaphosa in the Oval Office of the White House, Wednesday, May 21, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
South African businessman Johann Rupert, standing right, watches a video during a meeting between President Donald Trump and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa in the Oval Office of the White House, Wednesday, May 21, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa listens as he meets with President Donald Trump in the Oval Office of the White House, Wednesday, May 21, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
U.S. President Donald Trump says Iran has proposed negotiations after his threat to strike the Islamic Republic as an ongoing crackdown on demonstrators has led to hundreds of deaths.
Trump said late Sunday that his administration was in talks to set up a meeting with Tehran, but cautioned that he may have to act first as reports mount of increasing deaths and the government continues to arrest protesters.
“The meeting is being set up, but we may have to act because of what’s happening before the meeting. But a meeting is being set up. Iran called, they want to negotiate,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One on Sunday night.
Iran did not acknowledge Trump’s comments immediately. It has previously warned the U.S. military and Israel would be “legitimate targets” if America uses force to protect demonstrators.
The U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency, which has accurately reported on past unrest in Iran, gave the death toll. It relies on supporters in Iran cross checking information. It said at least 544 people have been killed so far, including 496 protesters and 48 people from the security forces. It said more than 10,600 people also have been detained over the two weeks of protests.
With the internet down in Iran and phone lines cut off, gauging the demonstrations from abroad has grown more difficult. Iran’s government has not offered overall casualty figures.
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A witness told the AP that the streets of Tehran empty at the sunset call to prayers each night.
Part of that stems from the fear of getting caught in the crackdown. Police sent the public a text message that warned: “Given the presence of terrorist groups and armed individuals in some gatherings last night and their plans to cause death, and the firm decision to not tolerate any appeasement and to deal decisively with the rioters, families are strongly advised to take care of their youth and teenagers.”
Another text, addressed “Dear parents,” which claimed to come from the intelligence arm of the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, also directly warned people not to take part in demonstrations.
The witness spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity due to the ongoing crackdown.
—- By Jon Gambrell in Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Iran drew tens of thousands of pro-government demonstrators to the streets Monday in a show of power after nationwide protests challenging the country’s theocracy.
Iranian state television showed images of demonstrators thronging Tehran toward Enghelab Square in the capital.
It called the demonstration an “Iranian uprising against American-Zionist terrorism,” without addressing the underlying anger in the country over the nation’s ailing economy. That sparked the protests over two weeks ago.
State television aired images of such demonstrations around the country, trying to signal it had overcome the protests, as claimed by Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi earlier in the day.
China says it opposes the use of force in international relations and expressed hope the Iranian government and people are “able to overcome the current difficulties and maintain national stability.”
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said Monday that Beijing “always opposes interference in other countries’ internal affairs, maintains that the sovereignty and security of all countries should be fully protected under international law, and opposes the use or threat of use of force in international relations.”
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz condemned “in the strongest terms the violence that the leadership in Iran is directing against its own people.”
He said it was a sign of weakness rather than strength, adding that “this violence must end.”
Merz said during a visit to India that the demonstrators deserve “the greatest respect” for the courage with which “they are resisting the disproportional, brutal violence of Iranian security forces.”
He said: “I call on the Iranian leadership to protect its population rather than threatening it.”
Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman on Monday suggested that a channel remained open with the United States.
Esmail Baghaei made the comment during a news conference in Tehran.
“It is open and whenever needed, through that channel, the necessary messages are exchanged,” he said.
However, Baghaei said such talks needed to be “based on the acceptance of mutual interests and concerns, not a negotiation that is one-sided, unilateral and based on dictation.”
The semiofficial Fars news agency in Iran, which is close to the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, on Monday began calling out Iranian celebrities and leaders on social media who have expressed support for the protests over the past two weeks, especially before the internet was shut down.
The threat comes as writers and other cultural leaders were targeted even before protests. The news agency highlighted specific celebrities who posted in solidarity with the protesters and scolded them for not condemning vandalism and destruction to public property or the deaths of security forces killed during clashes. The news agency accused those celebrities and leaders of inciting riots by expressing their support.
Canada said it “stands with the brave people of Iran” in a statement on social media that strongly condemned the killing of protesters during widespread protests that have rocked the country over the past two weeks.
“The Iranian regime must halt its horrific repression and intimidation and respect the human rights of its citizens,” Canada’s government said on Monday.
Iran’s foreign minister claimed Monday that “the situation has come under total control” after a bloody crackdown on nationwide protests in the country.
Abbas Araghchi offered no evidence for his claim.
Araghchi spoke to foreign diplomats in Tehran. The Qatar-funded Al Jazeera satellite news network, which has been allowed to work despite the internet being cut off in the country, carried his remarks.
Iran’s foreign minister alleged Monday that nationwide protests in his nation “turned violent and bloody to give an excuse” for U.S. President Donald Trump to intervene.
Abbas Araghchi offered no evidence for his claim, which comes after over 500 have been reported killed by activists -- the vast majority coming from demonstrators.
Araghchi spoke to foreign diplomats in Tehran. The Qatar-funded Al Jazeera satellite news network, which has been allowed to work despite the internet being cut off in the country, carried his remarks.
Iran has summoned the British ambassador over protesters twice taking down the Iranian flag at their embassy in London.
Iranian state television also said Monday that it complained about “certain terrorist organization that, under the guise of media, spread lies and promote violence and terrorism.” The United Kingdom is home to offices of the BBC’s Persian service and Iran International, both which long have been targeted by Iran.
A huge crowd of demonstrators, some waving the flag of Iran, gathered Sunday afternoon along Veteran Avenue in LA’s Westwood neighborhood to protest against the Iranian government. Police eventually issued a dispersal order, and by early evening only about a hundred protesters were still in the area, ABC7 reported.
Los Angeles is home to the largest Iranian community outside of Iran.
Los Angeles police responded Sunday after somebody drove a U-Haul box truck down a street crowded with the the demonstrators, causing protesters to scramble out of the way and then run after the speeding vehicle to try to attack the driver. A police statement said one person was hit by the truck but nobody was seriously hurt.
The driver, a man who was not identified, was detained “pending further investigation,” police said in a statement Sunday evening.
Shiite Muslims hold placards and chant slogans during a protest against the U.S. and show solidarity with Iran in Lahore, Pakistan, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/K.M. Chaudary)
Activists carrying a photograph of Reza Pahlavi take part in a rally supporting protesters in Iran at Lafayette Park, across from the White House, in Washington, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)
Activists take part in a rally supporting protesters in Iran at Lafayette Park, across from the White House in Washington, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)
Protesters burn the Iranian national flag during a rally in support of the nationwide mass demonstrations in Iran against the government in Paris, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)
