Iran, Sudan look to restore diplomatic ties after seven years
Iran and Sudan said on Thursday they were planning to restore ties after the Iranian foreign minister met his acting Sudanese counterpart for the first time since diplomatic relations between the two countries were severed seven years ago.
Sudan’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement that the meeting, on the sidelines of a Non-Aligned Movement meeting in Azerbaijan’s capital Baku, had discussed restoring relations “as soon as possible,” according to Reuters.
Sudan’s Acting Foreign Minister, Ali Sadeq, also thanked Iran for supplying humanitarian aid through the Iranian Crescent during the conflict between Sudan’s Army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, which, according to the UN has displaced nearly three million people internally and across borders in less than three months. In addition to the more than 2.2 million internally displaced persons, nearly 700,000 others have fled into neighboring countries.
Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian tweeted: “Our delegation met with the Sudanese foreign minister and discussed how to imminently resume diplomatic ties between Khartoum and Tehran.”
“In this meeting, talks were directed at resolving misunderstandings between the two countries and strengthening the political and economic relations between Tehran and Khartoum.”
Sudan followed Saudi Arabia’s decision by severing diplomatic relations with Iran on January 4, 2016, after Iranian protesters, enraged by the execution of prominent Shia cleric Sheikh Nimr Baqir al-Nimr by the Saudi government, stormed its diplomatic mission in Iran.
Saudi Arabia and Iran agreed to resume ties in March under a deal negotiated by China, raising expectations that Tehran and other Arab countries would fully re-establish diplomatic relations.
Sudan’s Sadeq was quoted as saying the deal between Saudi Arabia and Iran would enhance security and stability in the region and the Islamic world.