Israel said worried as Abraham Accords partner Sudan grows closer to Iran
Source close to military leader Abdel Fattah al-Burhan say he wanted weapons from Israel to beat rival in civil war, but when they weren’t offered, turned to Tehran instead
Israel is concerned that Abraham Accords partner Sudan is growing close to Iran, as it looks for assistance amid the civil war that has roiled the country since 2023, the Kan public broadcaster reported Sunday.
Sudan’s military leader Abdel Fattah al-Burhan renewed diplomatic ties with Iran in July 2024, after they were severed in 2016. Since then, Kan reported, al-Burhan has received military assistance from Tehran as his army battles the Rapid Support Forces.
The report asserted that al-Burhan turned to Iran after growing disappointed in Israel’s failure to come to his aid with military support as he had envisioned.
While al-Burhan wasn’t looking specifically for assistance from Tehran, a source close to the Sudanese ruler told Kan that “Sudan is forced to cooperate with any party interested in supplying it with weapons.
“There is currently a great opportunity for anyone who wants to help Sudan, publicly and secretly,” the source said, adding that the north African country would have expected to receive such assistance from Israel, as it could have led to “a real breakthrough in relations.”
But when the help from Jerusalem never materialized, the source said Sudan “was left without assistance and turned to Iran, which seized the opportunity after Sudan’s friends abandoned it.”
“For the sake of Sudan’s interests, we would even make a deal with the devil,” the source added.
In December last year, Bloomberg reported that Iran was supplying al-Burhan’s forces with drones. Iran has also supplied drones to Russia amid its invasion of Ukraine.
At the end of March, al-Burhan was able to capture the capital, Khartoum.
Sudan’s cooperation with Iran, which is avowed to Israel’s destruction, has worried Jerusalem, Kan reported without citing sources.
US President Donald Trump, then in his first term, announced in October 2020 that Sudan had agreed to normalize ties with Israel, the third Arab state to join the US-brokered deals begun in August of that year.
Economically crippled Sudan is believed to have agreed to normalization chiefly to enable it to be removed from the US list of state sponsors of terror and receive financial aid, and the country’s economic well-being is seen as critical to the deal’s success.
Iran at the time condemned the development, accusing Sudan of “paying a ransom” to get off the terror list.
The deal with Sudan was also to include aid and investment from Israel, particularly in technology and agriculture, along with further debt relief. At the time, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Israel would send $5 million worth of wheat to Sudan.
However, ties did not develop much, and by 2023 Sudan descended into civil war.
The conflict stems from a long-standing power struggle over military control and integration. Fighting between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces began in the capital, Khartoum, and quickly spread across the country. International efforts to broker peace since then have largely failed.
The fighting has created one of the world’s worst humanitarian emergencies. Various foreign players – Chad, Egypt, Iran, Libya, Qatar and Russia – have picked a side to support. In addition, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates are also involved, each backing opposing sides.
