South African officials have cast the move as a politically motivated attempt to discredit the country. The Trump administration has criticized the South African government for having a close relationship with Iran and for its stance against Israel.

The Trump administration has been criticised for granting refugee status to Afrikaners, a white ethnic minority, over people fleeing war and famine. View on euronews

The group of Afrikaners arrived in the US on Monday after President Donald Trump granted them refugee status, saying they faced racial discrimination. But Ramaphosa said those who wanted to leave were not happy with efforts to address the inequities of the apartheid past,