United States Lifts Eritrea Sanctions to Strengthen Strategic Red Sea Position

The US Treasury Department announced the lifting of sanctions on Eritrea on Friday, following a decision by President Donald Trump not to renew the 2021 measures. The Department of State stated that the move was made to advance US regional interests in the strategic Red Sea.

Eritrea's location in the Horn of Africa could prove crucial amid the ongoing conflict involving the US, Israel, and Iran, particularly as the Red Sea has emerged as a vital oil shipping route while the Strait of Hormuz remains blocked. Meanwhile, shipping through the Bab al-Mandeb strait faces growing pressure due to recent advances by Houthi forces in Yemen against the internationally recognised government.

The administration of former US President Joe Biden originally imposed the sanctions in November 2021. Those measures targeted Eritrean forces, President Isaias Afwerki’s party—the People’s Front for Democracy and Justice—and other state entities. Eritrean troops had been accused of atrocities during the conflict in Ethiopia’s Tigray region, where they supported the Ethiopian federal army before a peace deal was signed in late 2022.

The US sanctions had previously been renewed annually under a national emergency declaration. However, the US Treasury published a notice on Friday confirming that the national emergency had expired.

Eritrea welcomed the removal of the sanctions, stating they had inflicted severe damage on the country. Eritrea’s Information Minister Yemane Gebremeskel told the Reuters news agency that the unilateral measures imposed by the Biden administration were unwarranted and praised the remedial steps taken by the Trump administration.

The Tigray conflict resulted in at least 600,000 deaths, triggered a major humanitarian crisis, and left several hundred thousand people displaced. A State Department spokesperson told the AFP news agency that although the implementation of the peace deal has been uneven, the US determined it was time to adapt its foreign policy to current realities and engage collaboratively with both countries to further US interests.