Tehran's influence resurfaces: Navigating the Red Sea amidst Iran's strategic return to Sudan

Report by Toni Mrad, English adaptation by Karine Keuchkerian

This is the joy of a soldier in the Rapid Support Forces after downing a drone of the Sudanese army last month in Khartoum, which has witnessed confrontations between the Sudanese army led by Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and the Rapid Support Forces led by Mohamed Hamdan Daglo since last April.

This scene is not the first of its kind, raising several questions about the source of these aircraft. Accusations are pointed towards Iran.

According to a report by Bloomberg, the Sudanese army, under the leadership of al-Burhan, received shipments of "Mohajer-6" drones manufactured in Iran.

While neither the Sudanese army nor Iran has commented on the matter, the Iran International website published information last year about a delegation of Sudanese officials visiting Iran to purchase drones.

Has Iran "returned" to Sudan?

The return was translated on Monday with a meeting in Tehran between Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian and his Sudanese counterpart Ali Al-Sadiq Ali.

This meeting came four months after the resumption of relations between the two countries during the past year after Khartoum cut them in 2016 due to Iranian interventions in the region and the burning of the Saudi embassy in Tehran at that time. 

It is worth noting that before all of this, communication between Iran and Sudan was normal during the rule of former Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir.

According to some observers, the primary goal of this return to Sudan is to increase Tehran's influence in the African continent.

Sudan enjoys a strategic location overlooking the Red Sea, where the Houthis attack British, American, and Israeli ships as a form of support for Gaza in the ongoing war there.

On the other hand, the return of military cooperation between Tehran and Khartoum will benefit the Sudanese army commander Abdel Fattah al-Burhan in his war against the Rapid Support Forces.

In conclusion, the Horn of Africa, which includes Somalia, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Djibouti, and Kenya and is close to Sudan, is back in the spotlight. 

All eyes of Arab, regional, and international countries are turned towards it, given its strategic location, close to the Arabian Sea and overlooking the Red Sea, one of the world's most important maritime trade routes.