How Tehran infiltrated Africa, undermined security

Ahmed Adel

Africa can be considered of a major importance for any country interested in expanding its influence in the Middle East for its strategic location that has the ability to control maritime navigation in the Red Sea.

Iran is interested in the Horn of Africa, given the intensity of the political and military conflict between it and some regional countries, including Saudi Arabia and the Emirates, and the conflict with the Arab coalition in Yemen.

Djibouti:

Tehran sought since 1999 to boost its relations with Djibouti, especially after President Ismail Omar Guelleh came to power. It has been working since the beginning of last decade to establish a number of centers to promote Shiism.

Eritrea:

The beginning of Iranian-Eritrean relations dates back to the border conflict between both Ethiopia and Eritrea, which culminated in 2008, when Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki visited Tehran and stated there what he called the importance of benefiting from the Iranian experiences.

In 2009, Tehran launched a naval base in Eritrea at Bab al-Mandab, which is currently being used to support the Houthi militia in Yemen.

The Assab Port is considered one of the most important points of the Iranian presence in that region, as it was installed in 2009 by a large number of long-range and medium-range missile launchers and anti-aircraft missiles.

Somalia:

August 2011 was the official start of the Iranian presence in Somalia, as former Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi went to Mogadishu. Iran also built and equipped an integrated hospital and set up a camp with millions of dollars in famine-stricken Somalia.

Salehi made a second visit in November 2012, during which the Iranian minister affirmed that his country would reopen its embassy in Mogadishu after more than two decades.

In 2012, former Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said that his country was committed to defending the Somali people, and the Iranian ambassador to the United Nations sent a message to the Secretary-General that Iran would send two ships to patrol the Somali coast and the Gulf of Aden for a period of five months to fight pirates operating in the region and to protect Iranian cargo ships.

Iran and al-Shabaab al-Mujahideen:

Tehran mounted al-Shabaab al-Mujahideen terrorist jihadist group to achieve its strategic purposes in the region, as UN reports said Iran is using the group to carry out its terrorist operations that undermine the security of the Red Sea in order to threaten international maritime navigation and the interests of the United States in particular.