Gulf and Middle East
Somalia and Iran
Somalia cut diplomatic ties with Iran in January 2016, expelling Iranian diplomats and closing the Imam Khomeini Foundation in Mogadishu. Formal relations had begun in 1972. Trade continued: Iran sold Somalia US$36.9 million of goods in 2022, and UN monitors found in 2018 that Somali charcoal under a UN ban was being shipped through Iranian free zones.
How do Somalia and Iran relate today?
Somalia has had no diplomatic relations with Iran since January 2016. It expelled Iranian diplomats and closed the Imam Khomeini Foundation in Mogadishu, saying the foundation had acted beyond its mandate (Goobjoog, 7 January 2016, via Wikipedia). Wikipedia lists the relationship as suspended (en.wikipedia.org).
Trade carries on. Iran exported goods worth US$36.9 million to Somalia in 2022 (WITS, World Bank).
When did contact begin?
Persian and Arab traders were trading from enclaves along the Red Sea and Indian Ocean coasts between the 8th and 10th centuries (Library of Congress, Somalia: A Country Study). Mogadishu dates back at least to the 9th century, when Persian and Arabian immigrants mixed with Somalis. Some explain the city's name as a Somali form of the Arabic "maqad shah", "seat of the shah", hinting at a Persian role in its founding (Library of Congress).
Modern relations were set up in 1972, and an Iranian embassy opened in Mogadishu in February 1973 under a chargé d'affaires (Steele, Pahlavi Iran's Relations with Africa, Cambridge University Press, 2024, p. 284).
Who are the ambassadors and envoys?
- 1973: the first Iranian embassy in Mogadishu was headed by a chargé d'affaires (Steele, 2024, p. 284).
No fuller list was found. There have been no embassies since January 2016.
Who built the tie?
- Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, Shah of Iran, and Siad Barre, Somali president: their governments set up relations in 1972 (Steele, 2024).
No named connectors after 1979 were found in the sources checked.
What agreements have they signed?
No bilateral agreements were found in the sources checked.
Which leaders have visited?
No dated visits were found in the sources checked.
How much do they trade?
Iran's exports to Somalia, from World Bank WITS data:
- 2010: US$1.9 million (WITS).
- 2015: US$21.8 million (WITS).
- 2018: US$20.9 million (WITS).
- 2020: US$25.0 million (WITS).
- 2022: US$36.9 million (WITS).
Iran's recorded imports from Somalia were US$0.8 million in 2015 (WITS).
How much aid and money has gone in?
The UN Financial Tracking Service lists the Iranian government as a source for Somalia in 2011 but with no amount recorded (FTS, 2011). Iran is not among Somalia's creditors in the 2025 debt report (Somali Ministry of Finance, Annual Debt Management Report 2025).
What about security?
The UN Monitoring Group found that from March 2018 the main first destinations for Somali charcoal, banned for export by the UN, were the Kish and Qeshm free zones in Iran. The charcoal was rebagged as "Product of Iran", loaded onto Iranian-flagged dhows and shipped to Hamriyah port in Dubai (UN Security Council, S/2018/1002, 9 November 2018). The Group called Iran "a weak link in implementation" of the ban; Iran replied to its letters only on 17 September 2018, in one page (S/2018/1002).
On 29 October 2026 Somali pirates hijacked an Iranian fishing boat with 20 crew, who were later rescued by the Indian navy (AP, via Wikipedia). See Piracy off Somalia and Foreign forces in Somalia.
How does Iran deal with Somaliland and the member states?
The UN Monitoring Group traced the charcoal trade to networks based in Dubai and Kismayo, and said the Jubaland administration did not implement the charcoal export ban (S/2018/1002). No Iranian agreements with Somaliland or the member states were found.
Have there been disputes?
- January 2016 break: Somalia cut ties and closed the Imam Khomeini Foundation. On the same day it received a Saudi aid pledge of US$50 million; the Somali government denied any link (Reuters, 17 January 2016, via Wikipedia).
- Charcoal, 2018: see the security section above.
How many Somalis live in Iran?
No reliable count was found for this page.
Where does Iran stand in the UN and other bodies on Somalia?
Iran did not cooperate with the UN Monitoring Group on Somalia during its 2017–2018 mandate, the Group reported to the Security Council (S/2018/1002).
Related pages
Sources
- Goobjoog, 7 January 2016, via Wikipedia · en.wikipedia.org
- WITS, World Bank · wits.worldbank.org
- Library of Congress, Somalia: A Country Study · countrystudies.us
- Library of Congress · countrystudies.us
- Steele, Pahlavi Iran's Relations with Africa, Cambridge University Press, 2024, p. 284 · books.google.com
- WITS · wits.worldbank.org
- WITS · wits.worldbank.org
- WITS · wits.worldbank.org
- WITS · wits.worldbank.org
- WITS · wits.worldbank.org
- FTS, 2011 · api.hpc.tools
- Somali Ministry of Finance, Annual Debt Management Report 2025 · archive.mof.gov.so
- UN Security Council, S/2018/1002, 9 November 2018 · documents.un.org
- AP, via Wikipedia · en.wikipedia.org
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Where this matters
Same era
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