Iran, Sudan exchange ambassadors after eight years of severed ties

Iran and Sudan exchanged ambassadors on Sunday, nine months after they agreed to restore diplomatic relations following a seven-year hiatus.

Last October, Tehran and Khartoum announced in a joint statement the resumption of their diplomatic relations, seven years after Sudan decided to cut its relations with Iran following an attack on the Saudi Arabian embassy in Iran.

On Sunday, Sudan’s de facto leader and army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan received Iran's new ambassador Hassan Shah-Hosseini in Port Sudan and sent Abdelaziz Hassan Saleh as the African country’s ambassador to Tehran.

This is “the beginning of a new phase in the course of bilateral relations between the two countries," Sudanese Foreign Ministry Undersecretary Hussein al-Amin said.

The rapprochement comes as the army-aligned government of Sudan is scrambling for allies during its war with the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF). Over the course of the 15-month battle between the two sides, the Sudanese government has been loyal to the army.

The backdrop of Sudan's civil war has become a battleground for regional powers vying for strategic influence. Sudan's military, engaged in conflict with paramilitary forces, has sought external support, including drones from Iran, to gain the upper hand in the ongoing conflict.

Shortly after Iran and Sudan agreed to restore their relations last year, a delegation of Sudanese officials visited Iran on a mission to purchase Iranian-made drones, after a UN arms trade embargo expired in October.

Informed sources disclosed to Iran International that the delegation's primary objective was to acquire knowledge on the operation and utilization of the drones, which have been seen to be used in the likes of Russia's war on Ukraine and by the Houthis against Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

In February, the United States voiced concern at reported arms shipments by Iran to Sudan’s military. John Godfrey, the US ambassador to Sudan, said Washington was "deeply concerned by external support" to both the Sudan Armed Forces and rival Rapid Support Forces.

"There are reports about resumed ties between Sudan and Iran that could reportedly include Iranian materiel support to SAF, which is also very troubling and a source of great concern for us," Godfrey said at the time.

With the Sudanese army in control along the Red Sea, a large Iranian presence would alarm Western powers as Yemen's Houthi rebels, on the other side of the key maritime transit lane, have been firing on international shipping since the Israel-Hamas war.

In March this year, Sudan reportedly rejected Iran's attempt to establish a permanent naval base on Sudan's Red Sea coast to monitor maritime traffic to and from the Suez Canal and Israel.

Ahmad Hasan Mohamed, intelligence adviser to Sudan’s military leader, said Iran had offered explosive drones to Sudan's military to combat rebel forces amid the civil war and proposed a helicopter-carrying warship in exchange for permission to build the base. However, Sudan rejected the deal to avoid straining relations with the United States and Israel.