Sudan, Iran Restore Diplomatic Relations

President Ebrahim Raisi receives Sudanese Foreign Minister-designate Ali al-Sadiq in Tehran. (Iranian Presidency)
President Ebrahim Raisi receives Sudanese Foreign Minister-designate Ali al-Sadiq in Tehran. (Iranian Presidency)
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Sudan, Iran Restore Diplomatic Relations

President Ebrahim Raisi receives Sudanese Foreign Minister-designate Ali al-Sadiq in Tehran. (Iranian Presidency)
President Ebrahim Raisi receives Sudanese Foreign Minister-designate Ali al-Sadiq in Tehran. (Iranian Presidency)

Sudan's Foreign Minister-designate Ali al-Sadiq arrived in Tehran, the first high-level diplomatic visit between the two nations since they severed ties in 2016.

Sadeq met with President Ebrahim Raisi and his counterpart Hossein Amir-Abdollahian.

The official Iranian news agency (IRNA) reported that Abdollahian praised the reopening of the Iranian and Sudanese embassies and restoration of diplomatic ties.

IRNA added that Abdollahian expressed Iran's readiness to share with Sudan its capabilities and experiences in the industrial fields, engineering services, modern technology, health, and treatment.

The agency quoted Sadeq as expressing his regret for the severing of relations and briefed the FM on the latest developments in Sudan amid its ongoing conflict.

He cited the Sudanese president's efforts to overcome and resolve challenges peacefully and with the support of neighboring countries and the United Nations.

Sadeq also condemned the "autocratic Zionist regime" for perpetuating crises in Sudan and reiterated his country's unwavering support for the Palestinian cause, denouncing the "Israeli war crimes" in the Gaza Strip.

Sudan severed diplomatic relations with Iran in 2016, ending long years of military, security, and economic cooperation.

Khartoum pre-empted the decision by closing the Hussainiyat halls and the Iranian Cultural Mission, accusing Iran of seeking to spread the Shiite sect in the country.

Recent reports have said the Sudanese army was suffering from a shortage of weapons as the war against the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) rages on, making it a significant motivation to reestablish relations with Iran.

Last week, the RSF claimed the downing of an Iranian-made Mohajer-6 drone in Omdurman, Khartoum. It said it was the third such aircraft shot down by its forces, claiming they were being used by the military.

In 2012, Sudan was accused of smuggling Iranian weapons to Hamas through the Sinai Desert, prompting an Israeli raid on the alleged smugglers in Sudanese territory. Israel bombed the Yarmouk Military Industries Complex.

Then Israeli Defense Minister Amos Gilad described Sudan as a "terrorist state" that was being used as a crossing point to transfer Iranian weapons to the Hamas and Islamic Jihad movements through Egypt.



Gaza Rescuers Say Seven Killed in Israeli Air Strikes 

21 April 2025, Palestinian Territories, Gaza City: Palestinians hose down hotspots as they clean up the residue of tents destroyed in an Israeli attack on Gaza City. (Omar Ashtawy/APA Images via ZUMA Press Wire/dpa)
21 April 2025, Palestinian Territories, Gaza City: Palestinians hose down hotspots as they clean up the residue of tents destroyed in an Israeli attack on Gaza City. (Omar Ashtawy/APA Images via ZUMA Press Wire/dpa)
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Gaza Rescuers Say Seven Killed in Israeli Air Strikes 

21 April 2025, Palestinian Territories, Gaza City: Palestinians hose down hotspots as they clean up the residue of tents destroyed in an Israeli attack on Gaza City. (Omar Ashtawy/APA Images via ZUMA Press Wire/dpa)
21 April 2025, Palestinian Territories, Gaza City: Palestinians hose down hotspots as they clean up the residue of tents destroyed in an Israeli attack on Gaza City. (Omar Ashtawy/APA Images via ZUMA Press Wire/dpa)

Gaza's civil defense agency said Tuesday that seven people were killed in fresh Israeli air strikes across the Hamas-run territory.

"The occupation launched violent air strikes on Gaza City and the towns of Beit Lahia, Beit Hanoun, and Khan Younis, killing seven civilians," civil defense spokesman Mahmoud Bassal told AFP.

Four people were killed in the Al-Rimal area near Gaza City, two in Al-Sabra west of Gaza City and one in Khan Younis.

"The occupation also destroyed more than 10 homes east of Gaza City and in Rafah," he added.

The Israeli military, which did not immediately comment, has intensified its aerial bombardments and expanded its ground operations in the Gaza Strip since it resumed its offensive in the besieged Palestinian territory on March 18.

Gaza's civil defense agency on Monday accused the Israeli military of carrying out "summary executions" in the killing of 15 rescue workers last month, rejecting the findings of an internal probe by the army.

At least 1,691 people have been killed in Gaza since the military resumed its offensive, bringing the total death toll since the war erupted to at least 51,065, according to the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza.

Hamas's attack on Israel that ignited the war resulted in the deaths of 1,218 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures.