Relationship dossier
Iran
Kenya
Relationship assessment
Iran and Kenya pursue trade and other cooperation, with sanctions complicating commercial ties
Iran toward Kenya
+30Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi visited Kenya in 2023, where Iran signed cooperation agreements with the Kenyan government in several fields, including trade and investment.
Kenya toward Iran
+30Kenya hosted Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi in 2023 and signed cooperation agreements with Iran, while pursuing expanded trade, including proposed tea exports.
Overall relationship
+25The relationship combines government-backed cooperation agreements and trade initiatives with commercial constraints associated with sanctions. The 2023 presidential visit and agreements provide a basis for engagement, but the scale and follow-through of that cooperation are unclear.
How to read these scores
Scores are rough judgments, not objective measurements or current verification. Directional scores describe government policy and conduct, not public opinion. The overall score is an independent estimate, never an average.
- −100
- Extreme sustained hostility
- −50
- Substantially adversarial
- 0
- Mixed or neutral, supported by knowledge
- +50
- Substantially cooperative
- +100
- Exceptionally close sustained partnership
“Not assessed” means there is no recorded score. Pair existence makes no claim about diplomatic recognition or established relations.
Relationship context
Overview
Iran and Kenya have pursued practical cooperation, including agreements signed during Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi’s 2023 visit to Kenya and efforts to expand trade. The relationship also faces constraints, including the effect of international sanctions on proposed commercial arrangements. These developments indicate cooperation, though the breadth and implementation of bilateral initiatives are unclear.
Areas of tension
- International sanctions have complicated proposed Iran-Kenya commercial arrangements.
Key developments
Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi visited Kenya, and the two governments signed cooperation agreements covering several fields, including trade and investment.
Major uncertainties
- The scope and implementation of the agreements signed during Raisi’s 2023 visit are unclear.
- The extent to which sanctions have affected planned trade arrangements is uncertain.