Sudan’s Foreign Minister, Ali Al-Sadiq Ali, refuted claims in an interview with Sputnik on Sunday that Sudan had received any requests from Iran regarding the establishment of a permanent naval base on the Red Sea coast.
Ali told Sputnik on the sidelines of a diplomatic forum in Antalya, “I read the article in an American newspaper today, this news is not true.”
Minister Ali clarified, “The article is not accurate. Iran has never requested from Sudan to establish a base, and I recently visited Iran, where this topic was not discussed with any party.”
A senior Sudanese intelligence official revealed that Iran had unsuccessfully pressed to persuade Sudan to allow the construction of a permanent naval base on the Red Sea coast.
In an interview with The Wall Street Journal, Ahmed Hassan Mohamed, an intelligence affairs advisor to the commander of the Sudanese Armed Forces, said, “Iran supplied the Sudanese army with explosive drones for use in combat” against the Rapid Support Forces and “offered to provide a helicopter carrier if Sudan permitted the base.”
“The Iranians said they wanted to use the base for intelligence gathering. They also wanted to deploy warships there,” he added, noting that Khartoum rejected the Iranian proposal to avoid “alienating the United States.”
He explained, “Sudan purchased drones from Iran because we needed more precise weapons to minimize human casualties and adhere to international humanitarian law.”
Meanwhile, a spokesperson for the Iranian mission to the United Nations in New York declined to comment to the newspaper, which noted that a naval base on the Red Sea would enable Tehran to enhance its control over one of the world’s busiest maritime passages, where it assists the Houthi group in Yemen in launching attacks on commercial ships.
The newspaper pointed out that Sudan had close relations with Iran during the regime of former Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir, and after his ousting in 2019, Sudan’s Sovereign Council head, Lt Gen Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, began to engage with the United States in an attempt to lift international sanctions on his country.
Iran’s request to build a naval base highlights how regional powers, unnamed by the newspaper, are “seeking to exploit the ongoing 10-month war in Sudan to gain a foothold in the country,” a strategic crossroads between the Middle East and Sub-Saharan Africa, with a 400-mile (approximately 644 km) Red Sea coastline.
Fighting between the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces, led by Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo “Hemedti,” erupted unexpectedly in mid-April last year, following weeks of tensions as military and civilian parties were finalizing an internationally supported political process.
The war in Sudan has claimed tens of thousands of lives, resulting in catastrophic political and economic fallout, widespread infrastructure damage, a deteriorating healthcare system, and a food security threat to millions of citizens.
The conflict has led to a humanitarian disaster, with about 25 million people, more than half the population, needing aid, including roughly 18 million facing severe food insecurity, according to United Nations data.
The administration of U.S. President Joe Biden has accused both the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces of committing what it described as “war crimes.” The United States also accuses the Rapid Support Forces of committing “crimes against humanity,” including murder, rape, and ethnic cleansing in Darfur.
The United Nations has called for $4.1 billion to meet the humanitarian needs of civilians suffering from the war in Sudan and those who have fled to neighboring countries.
UN officials have criticized Sudan for aerial bombings of civilian areas and depriving Sudanese civilians of desperately needed humanitarian aid. UN agencies have also accused the Rapid Support Forces of committing “atrocities,” including ethnically motivated attacks in Darfur.
The Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces have denied the accusations from the United States and the United Nations.
In February, the United States expressed concern over Iranian arms shipments to the Sudanese army, with the U.S. Ambassador to Sudan, John Godfrey, stating at the time that reports of Iranian assistance to Khartoum were “very concerning and a serious concern for us.”
Last Monday, the U.S. State Department appointed Tom Perriello, a former congressman, as a special envoy to Sudan.