Fourteen years after cutting diplomatic ties with the Middle Eastern country due to what Tehran believes was coercion from the United States, The Gambia has announced that it will now resume diplomatic ties with Iran.

What You Must Understand

The declaration followed a series of talks on the fringes of Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian’s inauguration on July 29 between the foreign ministries of Iran and The Gambia.

Resuming relations “in order to preserve the interests of both countries,” according to the Iranian Foreign Ministry, came nearly 14 years after Banjul allegedly severed ties and ordered all Iranian diplomatic staff to leave within 48 hours following the alleged intercept of an armament shipment from Iran to The Gambia by Nigeria.

In the wake of the package’s discovery, Iran asserted that the consignment complies with international law despite being under UN sanction because of its nuclear program, however Banjul provided no formal explanation for the abrupt breakup of relations with Iran in 2010.

Speaking at the time, Alaeddin Borujerdi asserted—though The Gambia has never corroborated the assertion—that the country severed relations with the United States after the US put pressure on the West African country.

Three years later, an Iranian national named Azim Aghajani and a Nigerian citizen were both given five years in prison for smuggling weapons by a Nigerian court.

“The governments of the two countries agreed to expand friendly relations based on mutual respect, equality, and common interests,” the Iranian Foreign Ministry said in a recent statement.

Increased economic, political, and cultural collaboration between the two countries is expected as a result of the restart of relations, with Senegal—where both countries have embassies—likely serving as a conduit.