Iran is being described as “deeply threatened” by Somaliland, the breakaway territory on the Horn of Africa that is pitching itself as a new staging ground for the U.S. and its allies in the Red Sea fight.
Somaliland’s leaders are offering access to a deep-water port at Berbera and an airbase, a move supporters say could tighten the screws on Tehran by undercutting its ability to use Yemen’s Houthi terror group to harass shipping through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait. That chokepoint has taken on added weight as traffic through the Strait of Hormuz has been disrupted and rerouted.
Iran has been accused of pressuring the Houthis to ramp up strikes on commercial vessels, particularly in the Bab el-Mandeb, a gateway between the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden. The concern in Washington is that Tehran’s proxies can keep the region’s trade routes on edge even when Iran itself tries to keep some distance.
Lisa Daftari, a Middle East and foreign policy expert, told Fox News Digital, “Iran’s regime is deeply threatened by what Somaliland represents in an emerging pro-Western, potentially pro-Israel foothold overlooking the Bab el-Mandeb, that could blunt Tehran’s leverage via the Houthis over Red Sea shipping and Israel.”
Daftari, the editor-in-chief of The Foreign Desk, said, “that’s why Iran-backed Houthis are already explicitly threatening to strike any Israeli or Western military presence in Somaliland and warning they could move to choke the Bab el-Mandeb if the conflict with the U.S. and Israel escalates.”
The Trump administration has said Iran’s proxy network has taken hits in recent months. “The United States Military achieved all of the goals laid out for Operation Epic Fury – including weakening Iran’s proxies. Now, Iran is being strangled economically – giving President Trump all the cards as negotiations continue,” Anna Kelly, special assistant to the President and White House principal deputy press secretary told Fox News Digital when asked if the U.S. was considering a full-time-basing relationship with Somaliland.
Edmund Fitton-Brown, a senior fellow at The Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD), told Fox News Digital that Somaliland’s recognition of Israel and Israel’s recognition of it last December has clearly irked Iran.
Fitton-Brown, a former U.K. ambassador to Yemen, said Iran “opposes any recognition of it (Somaliland) primarily because Israel is the first state to recognize it, and Iran will oppose anything that Israel does. Iran is also viscerally opposed to the U.S. and UAE, both of which have pragmatic engagement with Somaliland, short of recognition. Somaliland is a potential base for anti-Houthi enforcement, i.e. a threat to the Iranian Axis of Resistance.”
The U.S. already operates a major base in Djibouti on the Red Sea. But Fitton-Brown argued the landscape there is shifting. “China is significantly expanding its military and commercial presence in Djibouti. There is a sense that Djibouti is not a reliable ally for the U.S. So Somaliland’s time has probably come,” he said.
Somaliland’s government is trying to force the issue. Foreign Minister Abdirahman Dahir Adam told Fox News Digital, “At a time when the Strait of Hormuz is under pressure and threats to the Red Sea are escalating, Somaliland has reiterated its longstanding offer to provide the United States with access along our coast. We have been clear about this in times of peace, and we are equally clear today.”
Adam also framed the pitch as logistics, not symbolism. “U.S. destroyers that expend their missile batteries in the Red Sea require (currently) up to two weeks of travel to be resupplied. Somaliland is ready to play a practical role in helping the U.S. to secure global trade routes,” he said.
Somaliland officials have also floated storage for tomahawk missiles, with a government source calling it “a unique way to advance security interests.”
Still, U.S. policy has long treated Somaliland as part of Somalia, which it broke away from in 1991. Maj. Gen. (Ret.) Kenneth P. Ekman, a former AFRICOM planner, told Fox News Digital that “a policy dilemma presents when conducting diplomatic and military relations with Somaliland directly, rather than through the Federal Government of Somalia and the SNA (Somali National Army).”
Even so, Ekman said access to Berbera could be valuable. “Additional access to the port of Berbera, located in Somaliland, provides redundancy (backup) and a relationally different partner. Frankly, the U.S. military, along with some of our allies and partners, need port access in Berbera,” he said.
Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, chairman of the Senate Subcommittee on Africa and Global Health, is pushing for formal recognition. He told Fox News Digital that “Somaliland promises to be a critical counterterrorism ally for the United States, both because of its strong willingness to partner with us and because of its unique location. We should recognize the Republic of Somaliland as an independent state and, in the meantime, significantly boost our counterterrorism cooperation.”
U.S. activity in the region has drawn attention. AFRICOM commander Gen. Dagvin Anderson visited Somaliland and toured port facilities in November, and Somaliland sources said U.S. military delegations arrive about every two months, with the latest visit in the second half of April.
Fitton-Brown said, “The U.S. is already using it (Somaliland) for counterterrorism operations. My understanding is that the U.S. doesn’t have a permanent military presence in Somaliland, but actively cooperates with Somaliland’s security forces on regional counterterrorism and maritime security issues.”
A Pentagon official, asked about U.S. counterterrorism cooperation in Somaliland, told Fox News Digital: “The United States maintains its strategic partnership with the Federal Government of Somalia.”
Daftari said Somaliland is offering Washington something Tehran does not want to see take shape. “Somaliland is offering the United States what the mullahs fear most in this theater, namely an alternative, resilient platform on the African shore that includes an airfield, port, and over-the-horizon access that would dilute Houthi leverage and give Washington options that don’t depend on Djibouti or Persian Gulf partners alone,” she said.
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