Iran Keeps Longstanding Ties With Horn of Africa to Outflank Rivals

Iran Keeps Longstanding Ties With Horn of Africa to Outflank Rivals
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, Astrakhan, Russia, Sept. 29, 2014 (Photo from the website of the Russian president).

While Iran is normally seen as a regional power, its influence extends beyond the Middle East. In an email interview, Jeffrey Lefebvre, associate professor of political science at the University of Connecticut, discussed Iran’s relations with countries in the Horn of Africa.

WPR: How extensive are Iran’s ties with countries in the Horn of Africa?

Jeffrey Lefebvre: Iran has maintained “proper” diplomatic relations with Ethiopia, Somalia and Djibouti despite their close political and strategic ties with the United States. In particular, Camp Lemonier in Djibouti has served as a base for U.S. military forces and the launch pad for U.S. drone strikes against radical Islamic movements in the Horn of Africa and Yemen since 2002. With regard to Eritrea, Tehran has taken advantage of Asmara’s falling-out with the U.S. over the past decade to establish a strategic relationship that allows Iranian warships to visit Eritrean ports, gather intelligence and allegedly use Eritrea as a transit point to ship weapons to Hamas and Hezbollah in Lebanon, and to provide support to the Shiite Houthi rebels across the Red Sea in Yemen. Despite claims that Iran has supported the al-Qaida-linked al-Shabab militia in Somalia, Tehran has provided humanitarian aid to the U.N.-backed government in Mogadishu.

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