US lifts sanctions on Eritrea ‘to advance US regional interests’ in Red Sea
The sanctions, introduced during the Biden administration, targeted Eritrea's governing party and the military.
The United States has lifted sanctions on Eritrea, with the Department of State saying President Donald Trump had chosen not to renew the 2021 measure targeting the country on the strategic Red Sea, “to advance US regional interests”.
Eritrea’s Horn of Africa location could be key amid the ongoing US-Israel war on Iran, as the Red Sea has become a key oil shipping route with the Strait of Hormuz blocked.
However, shipping through the Bab al-Mandeb strait has come under increasing pressure due to recent Houthi advances in Yemen against forces of the country’s internationally recognised government.
The US sanctions had been renewed annually under a presidential declaration of a “national emergency”, including last year by the Trump administration.