The Trump administration lifted sanctions on Eritrean Defense Forces and other entities in Eritrea on Friday.
The move, announced in a notice posted on the Department of Treasury’s website, comes amid the ongoing and expanding war in the Middle East and renewed focus on the Red Sea where Eritrea’s coastline is opposite Saudi Arabia.
In 2021, the US administration under President Joe Biden imposed sanctions against Eritrea’s ruling party and military as well as senior Eritrean officials for their role in a war in neighboring Ethiopia, where Eritrean forces backed Ethiopian troops fighting regional authorities in the northern Tigray region.
The Eritrean information and defense ministers did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The war in Iran and closure of the Strait of Hormuz, close to Saudi Arabia’s eastern coast, have brought into focus the importance of having control over the Red Sea, a key conduit for trade between the Mediterranean and Asia.
