The American Foreign Policy Council published in November 2025 an in-depth study titled "Charting Iran's Influence in Africa" by Alexander Brown, Charlotte Krausz, and Rob Gioia.
Africa is a testing ground for Iran's influence operations, a pathway for sanctions evasion, and strategic depth for its foreign policy initiatives. After mostly ignoring Africa during Hassan Rouhani's rule (2013-2021), Ibrahim Raisi (2021-2024) reestablished engagement with the continent as a strategic priority. Iran has sought to leverage latent anti-Western sentiment and exploit the political opening created by the departure of longtime regional players such as France.
