Since the outbreak of the Arab revolution and the Sudanese population have been looking for a better future for the youth ,women and the future generations. Achieving peace in the country which was devastated by the war for more than one century was the dream of all Sudanese citizens.
The overthrow of Omar Bachir who was supported by Islamists and Iran was a starting point to the new leadership of the country to set up a secular and democratic government and create peace and prosperity.Unfortunately,the country fell into a civil war which divided the population into pro-Islamists and pro secular and democratic parties.The efforts of the west mainly the EU and the US to find a peace solution have been so far in vain .The Paris summit on April 15th followed by Jeddah peace talks on April 18th 2024 did not contribute to a dialogue between the two different factions and the reason is mainly Iran involvement in the war for strategic and political reasons.
After a seven-year break, diplomatic ties between Iran and Sudan were restored in November 2023. Reviving its connections with Iran might have an influence on the global balance of power as well as the region, as Sudan is currently immersed in a horrific war. The recent high-level visits to Iran by Sudanese officials and the arms sales by Iran to the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) have started to bring the situation in the region to the notice of regional and international players.
According to field reports, Sudan is home to cargo aircraft that are connected to the Iranian Revolutionary Guard. Iran’s capacity to train Sudanese soldiers militarily in the future is one of the hotly contested issues which it did already in Yemen and Lebanon through Hezbollah. Iran aims to establish a greater presence and influence on the African continent and the Red Sea by providing aid to the SAF, which is currently at a standstill and unable to fight the RSF.
Iran aims also at having more leverage over Egypt and Saudi Arabia by taking use of its closeness to the Red Sea. It will also increase its maneuverability in the neighborhood of Israel, with which it has longstanding conflicts and aims at attacking the country through its proxies mainly Hamas and Hezbollah which October 7th attacks .Beyond these factors, Iran could be able to impede global maritime trade by keeping an eye on Red Sea shipping lanes. The worst-case scenario is that Iran uses the continuous violence to create pro-Iranian paramilitary forces inside the nation, much like it did with the Houthis in Yemen, and then uses these groups to pursue its own agenda.
Iran ‘s interference in the Sudanese war has a huge impact on the international peace efforts aiming at stabilizing the region and ending the displacement of more than 9 Million people as well as the big humanitarian crisis that has been devastating the country since the beginning of the clashes between the SAF and the RSF on April 15th 2023 .The Iranian regime should stop arming and supporting the Islamist movement so that both sides can find an agreement and end the conflict for a better future for the Sudanese population.