The Mullahs and Somali Shabaab: Iran incites terrorist movement to target American interests

Ahmed Adel

Iran is using the so-called terrorist Mujahideen Movement, as a bloody tool in the Horn of Africa, to carry out terrorist operations against American civilians and military personnel in both Somalia and Kenya, in the hope of carrying out an operation described as a response to the killing of Qassem Soleimani, commander of the Iranian Quds Force.

Iran is pushing the terrorist movement to focus its operations on the American targets located in the Horn of Africa, which was evident in targeting the American base “Simba camp” in Manda Bay, near the tourist island of Lamu, southeast of Kenya, near the Somali border, on Sunday, January 5 2020.

On the other hand, it is mentioned that Tehran facilitated the transit of Al-Qaeda elements to the Kabul and Tora Bora mountains, after the events of September 11, 2001.

Tehran supported regional and sub-organizations ideologically and organizationally linked to Al-Qaeda, in order to achieve the Iranian supreme goal in influencing and controlling various regional and international interactions and balances in the Middle East region, and regions that have interests with terrorist organizations, the most prominent of which is the al-Shabaab movement active in most of the countries of the Horn of Africa.

Mullahs and Shabaab

In the terrorist movement of young Mujahideen, Iran has found the horse that it can ride to achieve its strategic goals. Many international reports have been issued regarding the imposition of sanctions on the movement, since 2012, which indicated in its entirety that Iran is exploiting the movement in its terrorist activities, which harm the security of the sea.

This is in addition to Iran providing support to the movement’s piracy operations, as well as the movement’s use in transporting weapons, through smugglers into the Palestinian territories, for what is called the Islamic Jihad Movement and the Sabreen Movement.

Common terrorist interests

An increased cooperation between the two parties appeared, after the imposition of international sanctions on the Somali coal trade in 2012, which the movement uses to support its armed operations, as Iran mocked many of its ships to export Somali coal to global markets, using the Iranian flag on them, and in exchange for this the movement supplies Uranium to Iran, which it in turn uses to support its nuclear activities.

Although the Security Council has imposed an arms embargo on Somalia since 1992, Iran has transferred the al-Qaeda-linked movement, which is trying to topple the Western-backed Somali government, in exchange for facilitating the movement of arms to Yemen, which has become a field of Iranian interests through Libya, where it transfers arms Iranian for the Houthis.

The conflict between al-Shabaab movement and the United States of America also plays a role in supporting this movement by Iran, from which the US sanctions have received a lot.

The future of the conflict between Washington and al-Shabaab movement is increasing, with the movement’s continuing threats of fatal attacks targeting American interests in the Horn of Africa. The movement is still able to carry out its own attacks against American interests in the region.