Al-Shabaab militants may not be dragged into the US-Iran standoff following the murder of Gen Qassem Soleimani, Harun Maruf, the author of "Inside Al-Shabaab" has said.
Friday's death has increased tensions between Tehran and Washington, with both sides trading barbs.
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has promised members of the dead commander's family that Americans will "feel the impact" of their "criminal act... for years ahead".
President Donald Trump has vowed to protect the interests of American citizens and allies should Iran retaliate.
Some analysts believe that Iran could target US allies in the Middle East either directly or through friendly militants. The Somalia-based militants could have been ideal to carry retaliatory attacks on America and her allies in East Africa.
However, Harun Maruf believes Al-Shabaab "will not lose any sleep" over the death of Gen. Qassem Soleimani.
Maruf says, "If anything they will be quietly pleased with his demise given his role against Sunni jihadists in Syria."
"Shabaab doesn’t have relations with Iran, but it’s aware that Al-Qaeda members used Iran as a transit," adds the VOA journalist.
Al-Shabaab militants subscribe to Sunni ideologies whereas Iran and affiliated militias are defiant defendants of the Shiite ideologies.
Iran, Maruf observes, tried to establish ties with Mogadishu in 2011 through donating millions of dollars but Al-Shabaab seemed disinterested.
But the attempts by Iran did not materialise given that "In Jan 2016 Somalia cut ties with Iran after pressure from Saudi Arabia."
Whenever her interests are at stake, Al-Shabaab has often taken sides either for or against nations extending a hand to the fragile Mogadishu administration.
A former Al-Shabaab defector, Maruf adds, "believes some of the weapons Iran sends to Yemen end up in Somalia through smuggling".
But according to him, Al-Shabaab never gets the direct supply of weapons from Iran but "are likely to buy snuggled weapons" from Yemen.
While these weapons may have originated Iran and friendly fighters, Maruf says, "there is no proof of direct supplies."