U.S. Delegations Revisit Somaliland Port Every 2 Months as Iran Fears Red Sea Foothold
Updated
Updated · Fox News · May 27
U.S. Delegations Revisit Somaliland Port Every 2 Months as Iran Fears Red Sea Foothold
1 articles · Updated · Fox News · May 27
U.S. military delegations have been visiting Somaliland about every two months, a government source said, with the latest trip in late April to review port facilities after AFRICOM chief Gen. Dagvin Anderson visited in November.
Berbera’s deep-water port and airfield are being pitched as a backup hub near the Bab el-Mandeb, where Somaliland says it can offer coastal access and even missile storage to speed U.S. resupply in the Red Sea.
Iran sees that prospect as a threat because a U.S.- or Israel-linked presence in Somaliland could weaken Houthi leverage over Red Sea shipping, according to analysts cited in the report.
The idea still faces a diplomatic obstacle: Washington publicly works through Somalia’s federal government, even as former U.S. officials say American forces have coordinated with Somaliland since 2023 on counterterrorism operations.
Will the U.S. risk its 'One Somalia' policy to secure a strategic foothold against Iran?
How will an Israeli military base in Somaliland reshape the Red Sea's strategic map?
Is a new proxy war brewing in the Horn of Africa over Somaliland's independence?