BENJI SHULMAN: Iran is a malignant force in Africa

As Israel and the US battle Iran in the Middle East, the ripple effects are likely to be felt in Africa.

For more than four decades Iran has served as a central engine of Islamist terrorism, using its Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and a network of proxy militias to destabilise the region. From its backing of Hezbollah in Lebanon to funding Shi’a militias in Iraq and its unwavering support for Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad in Gaza, the Iranian regime has perfected a model of asymmetrical warfare.

This model relies on ideological radicalism, proxy forces and complex terror financing networks that has plunged the region into repeated cycles of violence. Unfortunately, this influence is not confined to the Middle East and also affects Africa.   

As in the Middle East, Iran supports military operations in various African countries — most notably in Sudan and with the Polisario Front in Western Sahara. But Tehran’s strategy extends beyond hard power. Through a broad soft-power campaign, it aims to entrench its ideological, religious and strategic presence across the continent.

In Nigeria, this influence is highly visible. Since the 1980s Iran has backed the Islamic Movement of Nigeria, a Shi’a group modelled in some respects on Hezbollah. Before the 1979 Iranian Revolution, Shi’a Islam had little to no footprint in Nigeria. Today it is estimated that 2-million to 3-million Nigerians identify as Shi’a, a transformation driven by Iranian-supported institutions that continue to offer ideological training, financial backing and organisational support. 

In parallel with its religious outreach, Iran has accelerated its economic and political engagement with Africa. In 2023 it launched eight business centres across the continent and hosted a series of economic summits in Tehran aimed at cementing Africa’s role as a strategic trade partner. These economic overtures are often linked to political and military incentives: Iran has offered combat drones to African governments in exchange for access to uranium, and has sought basing rights in countries such as Sudan in return for arms shipments.

At the same time Tehran’s propaganda machine has expanded. Hausa TV, a state-sponsored channel broadcasting in one of West Africa’s most widely spoken languages, pushes pro-Iran and anti-Israel messaging to a regional audience of over 50-million people. These media operations serve as a critical arm of Iran’s information warfare in Africa.

Perhaps the most dangerous effect of Iran’s involvement in Africa is the example it sets for other Islamist movements. Its tactics, organisational models and financial structures are being emulated by extremist groups across the continent — with devastating consequences.

According to the US Africa Command, while only 4% of global Islamic jihadists were based in Africa in 2008, that figure has since risen to 40%. According to the Africa Centre for Strategic Studies, the number of violent incidents linked to Islamist groups in Africa nearly quadrupled between 2014 and 2023 — from 1,812 to 6,756 attacks.

A recent study by the Middle East Africa Research Institute notes that while terrorism was once concentrated in North Africa, it is now spreading deeper into the sub-Saharan region, affecting countries such as Nigeria, Somalia, Mozambique and Democratic Republic of Congo.

One of the most horrific manifestations of this violence occurred recently in Yelewata, Benue State, Nigeria, where militants massacred up to 200 Christians on the night of June 14 this year. The attackers targeted already-displaced families, setting their shelters on fire while they slept and hacking to death those who tried to flee, according to NGO Aid to the Church in Need.

“What I saw was truly gruesome. People were slaughtered. Corpses were scattered everywhere,” said local priest Ukuma Jonathan Angbianbee. At his Sunday Angelus address, Pope Leo XIV condemned the attack, calling it a “terrible massacre” and offering prayers for the internally displaced people who were targeted. The Pope highlighted the vulnerability of rural Christian communities in Nigeria who have become frequent victims of Islamist violence.

This atrocity is not isolated. It is part of a broader pattern of jihadist brutality that includes beheadings, suicide bombings, child soldier recruitment, church burnings and the abduction of women and girls for forced marriage. The tactics closely mirror those used by the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, and by Hamas in its attacks on Israeli civilians. The spread of this model across Africa highlights the urgency of breaking the supply chains — ideological, financial and strategic — that enable it. 

SA plays a particularly troubling role in this dynamic. Its advanced financial infrastructure, combined with lax oversight, has made it a hub for terror financing. Islamic State-linked networks have been known to launder money through SA financial channels and redirect it to support extremist activities across East Africa.

In 2023 SA was placed on the Financial Action Task Force greylist, signalling serious deficiencies in its monitoring of illicit financial flows. Compounding the problem are the country’s political and commercial ties to the Islamic Republic of Iran. MTN has faced allegations — including in a US federal lawsuit — of facilitating transactions and technologies used by the Iranian regime to suppress dissent and support its military-industrial complex, including the Revolutionary Guard, through its investment in Irancell. Meanwhile, Hezbollah and Hamas, both Iranian proxies, maintain connections within SA’s borders, notably with the ANC.

Should the Israel/US war with Iran result in the regime being significantly weakened — or even toppled — it may offer African nations an opportunity to reclaim sovereignty from Tehran’s growing interference. A weakened Iran could mean the collapse of its influence networks on the continent, including proxy groups, ideological institutions and terror financing systems.

For many African communities that have suffered under the shadow of Islamist violence inspired or supported by Iran, this could offer a long-overdue chance to restore peace, security and self-determination. 

• Shulman is executive director of the Middle East Africa Research Institute.