The United States is considering lifting long-standing sanctions against Eritrea, reports privy to APA on Thursday suggest.
The possible change of heart by Washington comes as the martime East African country is deemed strategically very important amid the escalating conflict in the Middle East which renders the Strait of Hormuz dangerous for international shipping.
The decision to withdraw the penalties, which analysts link to Eritrea’s command of the Red Sea shipping route, marks a significant shift in U.S. foreign policy toward one of the world’s most reclusive states which has been under sanctions for years.
According to the State Department internal note, the U.S. plans to revoke an executive order signed by President Donald Trump “on or around May 4” to the effect that Eritrea would be free of sanctions.
Washington-Asmara relations have been marked by decades of frozen diplomatic ties and more recent restrictions targeting the ruling party and military leadership in Eritrea.
The policy shift comes as the war in Iran and the resulting closure of the Strait of Hormuz continues to cripple global oil supplies and destabilise maritime trade traffic.
With the strait blocked, the Red Sea-where Eritrea maintains an expansive coastline opposite Saudi Arabia-has become the primary conduit for trade between Asia and the Mediterranean.
Control and cooperation along the Red Sea are no longer optional for Washington, said an analyst familiar with the region. “According to the observer, the disruption of Persian Gulf routes has made Eritrea a mechanical necessity for global energy security.
In 2021, the Biden administration imposed sweeping sanctions on the People’s Front for Democracy and Justice (PFDJ), the Eritrean military, and senior security officials.
The penalties were a response to Eritrea’s intervention in the civil war in neighbouring Ethiopia, where its forces backed federal troops against the regional authorities in the Tigray region.
MG/as/APA