The American Wall Street Journal said that Iran pressured the Sudanese authorities to allow the construction of a permanent Iranian naval base on the Red Sea coast, but those demands were rejected by Khartoum.
The newspaper quoted what it described as a senior Sudanese intelligence official as saying that there was Iranian base On the Red Sea it would have given Iran the advantage of controlling maritime traffic to and from the Suez Canal, as well as for Israel.
Ahmed Hassan Muhammad, intelligence advisor to the Sudanese army commander, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, said, according to the newspaper, “He said that Iran has provided the Sudanese army with explosive drones for use in fighting the Rapid Support Forces led by Muhammad Hamdan Dagalo (Hemedti) and has offered to provide a warship carrying a helicopter if Sudan grants… Permission to establish the base.
The American newspaper quoted the source as saying, “The Iranians said they want to use the base to collect intelligence information.”
warships
“They also wanted to place warships there,” he added, but stressed that Khartoum rejected the Iranian proposal to avoid antagonizing the United States and Israel.
The American newspaper explained that the presence of a naval base on the Red Sea would allow Tehran to tighten its grip on one of the busiest shipping lanes in the world, as it helps the Houthis launch attacks on commercial ships.
The Houthis say the attacks aim to Response to the Israeli attack on Gaza.
It is noteworthy that Sudan enjoyed strong relations with Iran and Hamas during the era of Al-Bashir, and after his overthrow in 2019, army commander Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan began trying to rapprochement with the United States to end international sanctions on his country, and also moved towards normalizing relations with Israel.
Drones
And he fights Sudanese army Rapid Support Forces Since mid-April, the conflict has killed tens of thousands of people, displaced millions, and caused one of the worst humanitarian crises in the world.
The American newspaper quoted the Sudanese intelligence source as saying, “Sudan bought drones from Iran because we needed more accurate weapons to reduce the loss of human lives and respect international humanitarian law.”
According to regional and local officials, explosive drones helped the Sudanese army compensate for its losses incurred against the Rapid Support Forces, and the army regained control of important areas in Khartoum and Omdurman.
The Biden administration accused both the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces of committing war crimes.
UN officials criticized Sudan for aerial bombardment of civilian neighborhoods and depriving Sudanese civilians of the humanitarian aid they desperately need.
The Sudanese army and forces denied Fast support Accusations of the United States and the United Nations.
In February, the United States expressed concern about Iranian arms shipments to the Sudanese army.
John Godfrey, the US ambassador to Sudan at the time, said reports of Iranian aid to Khartoum were “very disturbing and a source of great concern to us.”
On Monday, the US State Department appointed Tom Perriello, a former congressman, as a special US envoy to Sudan.
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