Iran war smolders, shunned Eritrea looks to come in from the cold

A rare window into Eritrea shows how the country’s decades of war-era structure still shapes everyday life and now boosts its geopolitical relevance. In Asmara, Reuters spoke with Halima Mohammed, 56, Eritrea’s education minister and a former student of Revolution School for children of guerrilla fighters. The system mandates military training for teenagers near the end of high school and assigns long-term national service or low-paid civilian roles. Eritrea remains highly isolated—no elections since the 1990s and media shut down in 2001—yet the Iran-war has elevated its roughly 1,000 km Red Sea coastline as a safer alternative to the Strait of Hormuz. Washington last week removed its sanctions.