The US is considering lifting sanctions on the repressive East African state of Eritrea as it looks to deepen its influence along the Red Sea coast, according to The Wall Street Journal .
Trump's Africa envoy Massad Boulos has told foreign officials that Washington could begin easing restrictions as part of efforts to restore full diplomatic ties with the country, which has more than 700 miles of coastline along the vital shipping route, current and former officials told the newspaper.
Other officials said the administration has not made a final decision about lifting sanctions on the country, which ranks among the most authoritarian in the world.
Overlapping conflicts in the Red Sea and Horn of Africa have seen the region emerge as an increasing geopolitical hotspot in recent years. Houthi attacks in the Bab al-Mandeb Strait, the war in Sudan and Saudi-UAE competition have shifted alliances and pulled a growing number of powers into a race for influence.
Stability in the Red Sea has become a top global concern in recent weeks after Iran locked down the Strait of Hormuz , depriving the world of vital Gulf oil and gas supplies. Tehran's Houthi allies in Yemen have threatened to shut down the crucial shipping route, a move that would choke off Saudi Arabia's oil exports and send new shockwaves through the global economy.
The plan to strengthen ties with Eritrea predates the war with Iran, with senior officials holding meetings late last year.
Egypt, which shares with Eritrea a mutual foe in Ethiopia , is facilitating talks between the two sides and hosted a meeting between Boulos and Eritrea's president, Isais Afwerki, in Cairo, officials said. Egyptian officials have appealed to Trump to put pressure on Ethiopia to make concessions over its damming of the Blue Nile.
The US envoy met with Egypt's president, Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, earlier this week where he informed him the US will begin lifting restrictions on Eritrea soon, officials said.
Boulos reportedly also met with Eritrea’s foreign minister, Osman Saleh Mohammed, during the UN General Assembly in New York in September.
Afwerki has ruled Eritrea with an iron fist since 1993 when the country gained independence from Ethiopia and is notorious for its forced conscription regime. Freedom House ranks it alongside North Korea as one of the two most repressive countries in the world.
Successive US administrations have refused to deepen ties with Afwerki's government over its dismal human rights record. Trump attempted a rapprochement in his first term before the Biden administration imposed sanctions in 2021 over its intervention in the Tigray conflict in Ethiopia.
The country is strategically located opposite Yemen on the southern end of the Red Sea, making it a potential staging ground for attacks against the Houthis. The UAE has established a military presence in the country to support its operations in Yemen.