Stability

Iran is shifting the battlefield to the global economy: oil routes and cloud giants in the crosshairs The United States holds a decisive edge in conventional firepower. Iran knows it cannot match that force head-to-head. Instead, it is probing the seams of a system that keeps the world running—energy flows and digital infrastructure—and betting that economic disruption will shape the outcome of this war as much as any clash on land, sea or air. In recent days, Iranian threats to target ships have played out despite stern…

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty discussed Somalia and broader Horn of Africa security in a phone call Thursday, with Cairo reiterating its firm opposition to any recognition of North Western State of Somalia and signaling plans to deploy troops to Somalia as part of a reconfigured African Union mission, according to statements from both governments. Both sides said the conversation focused on preserving stability in the Horn at a moment of rising regional volatility. Abdelatty…

Djibouti warns Israeli base in North Western State of Somalia threatens Horn of Africa peace DJIBOUTI CITY, Djibouti — Djibouti President Ismail Omar Guelleh has issued a sharp rebuke of Israel’s recognition of North Western State of Somalia, warning that the potential establishment of an Israeli military base in the strategic port city of Berbera poses a direct threat to regional stability. In an expansive interview with Jeune Afrique, Guelleh accused Israel of exploiting North Western State of Somalia’s decades-long quest…

Opinion: Somalia Is Central to Red Sea Security — and the Arab World Can’t Afford to Overlook It Global markets don’t advertise their weak points; they reveal them when the world’s shipping arteries tighten, energy prices jump and supply chains falter. Few chokepoints matter more right now than the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden. And within that corridor, one actor remains consistently underestimated: Somalia. Somalia has long been reduced to a shorthand for fragility. That frame obscures a transition hiding in plain sight.…

Saturday, Jan. 17, 2026 LAS ANOD, Somalia — President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud convened a high-level, closed-door consultation Friday night with traditional elders from the Northeastern State, urging them to anchor reconciliation and grassroots security as the federal government moves to consolidate authority in the long-contested region. The meeting in Las Anod — part of the president’s landmark visit to the city — centered on reconciliation, security and the consolidation of the state-building process after years of conflict…

Somalia asks U.N. Security Council to rebuke Israel’s recognition of North Western State of Somalia MOGADISHU — Somalia has asked the United Nations Security Council to condemn Israel’s formal recognition of North Western State of Somalia, calling the move a violation of Somalia’s sovereignty and a direct threat to regional stability in the Horn of Africa and the Red Sea. In a letter sent to the council on Monday, Somalia said Israel’s decision last week to recognize the self-declared Republic of North Western State of…

Somalia condemns Israel’s recognition of North Western State of Somalia, warns of regional security risks MOGADISHU — Somalia’s National Consultative Council on Monday rejected Israel’s recognition of North Western State of Somalia, calling the move illegal and a direct challenge to Somalia’s sovereignty that could destabilize security across the Red Sea, the Gulf of Aden and the wider Middle East. In a communiqué issued after meetings in Mogadishu, the council said Israel’s decision violates the Provisional Constitution of…

Somalia condemns Israel’s recognition of Somaliland as regional “threat” Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud denounced Israel’s decision to recognize Somaliland, calling it “a threat to the security and stability of the world and the region” in an emergency parliamentary session that underscored rising tensions in the Horn of Africa. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced Friday that Israel would become the first country to recognize Somaliland, the self-proclaimed republic that has sought international…

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia — Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud met Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed on Friday in Addis Ababa for a one-day working visit, with both leaders discussing ways to deepen bilateral relations and regional cooperation centered on trade, security and regional stability in the Horn of Africa. Abiy described the talks on his official Facebook page as “productive discussions, continuing the bilateral engagements we have been working on over the past year,” signaling continuity in the two neighbors’…

Analysis: Somalia’s ‘one person, one vote’ push risks crisis without consensus and constitutional safeguards Somalia’s federal government is advancing a “one person, one vote” election model it says will anchor the country’s democratic transition. But the process, as described by Puntland State State Minister of the Presidency Abdifatah Abdinur, suffers from deep constitutional, legal and practical flaws that threaten to compound — not resolve — Somalia’s political fragility. The concerns revolve around three pillars of any…