Middle East crisis: Smoke billows from an oil tanker was hit off Oman's Musandam peninsula, in this screen grab from a video obtained by Reuters on March 1, 2026.
The Horn of Africa has become a strategic hinge for global powers. The United States, Russia, China, Britain and France monitor its stability closely, while Iran, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Turkiye compete for influence along the Red Sea and western Indian Ocean.
Yet the region remains exposed to external shocks, given its historic ties to major powers and reliance on global supply chains as a net importer.
