Iran Combats Isolation With Africa Outreach

President Raisi tours Kenya, Uganda, and Zimbabwe to promote trade and strategic depth

Iran is investing a lot in relationship-building on the African continent. The Islamic Republic’s president, Ebrahim Raisi, embarked on a diplomatic tour Tuesday, including visits to Kenya, Uganda, and Zimbabwe.

Iran, isolated internationally under strict US-led sanctions, also announced last week that it had developed new ties with Algeria and Sudan.

Iran needs to end its international and regional isolation, and its move toward Africa should be viewed in that context

“Iran needs to end its international and regional isolation, and its move toward Africa should be viewed in that context,” said Mohammed Khan, a researcher at Rasanah, a Riyadh-based Iranian studies group.

Although Iran has recently signed deals with Middle Eastern competitors such as Saudi Arabia, Khan told The Media Line, its regional rivalries are still alive and well.

“Iran wants to keep its options open and not put all its eggs in one basket,” Khan explained. After all, Iran’s new agreements with Middle Eastern countries “can be easily overturned.”

Iran’s advancements in nuclear energy are enticing to countries like Kenya that are seeking to set up their own nuclear power plants

Valeria Scuto, an analyst at Sibylline, a London-based global risk assessment group, said President Raisi was trying to improve relations with African countries since beginning his term in 2021.

Raisi’s goal, Scuto said, was increased economic opportunities. Countries like Kenya, Uganda, and Zimbabwe could use Iran’s services and technical know-how in the medical and agrifood sectors.

Washington is also sanctioning Zimbabwe, Scuto said, and “Harare may be seeking greater alignment with Tehran as a source of [international] relief.”

Kenya’s interest in enhancing ties with Iran is linked to its nuclear power ambitions. “Iran’s advancements in nuclear energy are enticing to countries like Kenya that are seeking to set up their own nuclear power plants,” Scuto said.

Africa offers Iran significant potential for strategic depth, natural resource access, and opportunities to expand its sphere of influence, Khan said. It is also a key arena for competition with Saudi Arabia and Turkey, both of whom have been upping their own African outreach.

Khan says that former Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who led the country from 2005 to 2013, regarded some African countries as potential members of Iran’s “Axis of Resistance.”

Some Iranian leaders have used the term when referring to their rivalry with the US, Israel, Saudi Arabia, Sunni militants, and Iranian opposition groups.

Members of the Axis of Resistance typically include Palestinian groups, the Syrian government, Lebanon’s Hezbollah, ethnic Houthi militias in Yemen, and Shiite factions in Iraq.

Khan says Iranian activity in Africa is also aimed at showing domestic and foreign audiences Iran is not isolated and has potential trading partners outside the West.

Scuto noted that all three African countries on President Raisi’s itinerary are part of the Non-Aligned Movement, a forum of 120 countries who say they are not aligned with major geopolitical powers.

The movement’s next summit meeting is scheduled to take place in Kampala, Uganda’s capital, in June 2024.