Sudan-Iran: the two heads of diplomacy announce the reopening of embassies in the midst of the Sudanese conflict

The head of Iranian diplomacy, Hossein Amir Abdollahian, received his Sudanese counterpart Ali Al Sadiq Ali in Tehran, this Monday, February 5, 2024. The two foreign ministers discussed the reopening of their respective embassies. A rapprochement as the Sudanese army seeks allies against the paramilitaries with whom it has been at war since April 15, 2023. Decryption.

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Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian in Tehran, Iran, October 24, 2022. via REUTERS - WANA NEWS AGENCY

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The Sudanese army continues to

 seek allies in the region

. A week ago, General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan paid

a visit to Algiers

. He obtained his support against the paramilitaries. The latter, the Rapid Support Forces (FSR), are, for their part, helped by several foreign countries.

On February 5, 2024, it was the turn of Ali al-Sadiq Ali, the Sudanese Minister of Foreign Affairs, to travel to Tehran where he met his counterpart.

This is the first visit by a Sudanese official to Iran in more than seven years. The two ministers announced the rapid reopening of embassies in their two countries.

The head of Iranian diplomacy, Hossein Amir Abdollahian, like his Sudanese counterpart, welcomed the upcoming reopening of their respective embassies. An “

important

” measure 

 , according to him, which aims to develop bilateral relations.

For his part, Sudanese Foreign Minister Ali al-Sadiq Ali expressed regret over the breakdown of relations in 2016. He underlined Khartoum's strong desire to strengthen ties with Tehran " 

in various areas

 ."

Tehran promised to expand bilateral cooperation and was available to share its expertise in different industrial, technological and medical fields.

#Iran supports establishment of strong government in Sudan: Raisihttps://t.co/26WG1SbazN pic.twitter.com/E8k5gz9Hmc

— IRNA News Agency (@IrnaEnglish) February 5, 2024

This normalization occurs in the context of the armed conflict between the Sudanese military and paramilitaries which began on April 15, 2023, which gives it an additional dimension. Iranian drones have been used in Khartoum since the start of the year and munitions have reportedly been sent to the Sudanese army.

This normalization with the former Iranian ally, however, worries certain Gulf countries who view this rapprochement as a threat. According to several specialists, this allows Tehran to have access to the Red Sea, which strengthens Iran's presence in the region.

International forces like China, Russia and the United States, or regional ones like Turkey and the United Arab Emirates, are all competing for access to this strategic area. Sudan has 800 kilometers of coastline on the Red Sea.

Sudan-Iran: unstable diplomatic relations

Relations between Sudan and Iran have been unstable in recent decades. Already, in 1985, their relations were very tense. At the time, President Jaafar al-Nimeiri accused Tehran of funding the Muslim Brotherhood to destabilize it. But the coming to power, following a coup d'état in 1989, of deposed president Omar al-Bashir reactivated these relations. What followed was significant economic and military cooperation that lasted until 2016, when Khartoum decided to fire Iranian diplomats. Officially, Sudan was protesting the assault on the Saudi embassy in Tehran, but in reality it was under pressure from Riyadh. In October 2023, during a meeting on the sidelines of the Islamic summit in Riyadh, the two countries, motivated by a concordance of interests, finally decided to reestablish their diplomatic relations and cooperation, after nearly seven years of rupture.

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• Sudan

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• Abdel Fattah al-Burhan