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Sudan Adopts ‘Jeddah Platform’ as Single Platform for Negotiation

A man walks while smoke rises above buildings after aerial bombardment during clashes between the Rapid Support Forces and the army in Khartoum (File photo: Reuters)
A man walks while smoke rises above buildings after aerial bombardment during clashes between the Rapid Support Forces and the army in Khartoum (File photo: Reuters)
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Sudan Adopts ‘Jeddah Platform’ as Single Platform for Negotiation

A man walks while smoke rises above buildings after aerial bombardment during clashes between the Rapid Support Forces and the army in Khartoum (File photo: Reuters)
A man walks while smoke rises above buildings after aerial bombardment during clashes between the Rapid Support Forces and the army in Khartoum (File photo: Reuters)

Sudan renewed on Friday its adoption of the Jeddah Platform as the sole proposal for negotiations with the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and affirmed its categorical rejection of any talks outside of Jeddah.
After a joint meeting with the Sovereignty Council in the temporary alternative capital, Port Sudan, the government rejected peace talks outside the Jeddah process, asserting that it is the only platform to "negotiate the war imposed by the rebel militias," referring to the RSF.
The designated Minister of Information, Graham Abdel Gader, explained that the government of Sudan will not sit or negotiate with the Rapid Support Forces on any other platform, asserting that any claims or rumors about online negotiations or any other place are "false and baseless."
Abdel Gader reiterated that engagements with regional or international actors must occur within the Jeddah framework.
The joint meeting was chaired by Army Commander Lt-Gen Abdul Fattah Al-Burhan and attended by his deputy, Malik Aqar, along with other members, including Lt-Gen Shamseddine Kabashi and Ibrahim Jaber.
The Minister of Information said the meeting addressed the "government's priorities," the 2024 federal budget, and the efforts to achieve peace and protect citizens.
The meeting also discussed resolving what he described as "rebellion," asserting the need for RSF rebels to leave the homes of citizens and the government, service, and other institutions they occupied.
Observers suggested that these statements hint at an imminent return to the Jeddah platform, which has been suspended for months.
- Non-adherence
Last May, Jeddah hosted the Saudi-US initiative for talks between the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces, which led to the signing of the Jeddah Declaration stipulating the protection of civilians and private and public facilities and refraining from using them for military purposes.
However, the two parties did not adhere to the agreement and returned to negotiations again in October last year.
The new round was met with intransigence from both sides, forcing the mediators, namely Riyadh and Washington, to suspend the negotiations.
The dispute between the two warring parties focused on the "Rapid Support" adherence to the necessity of arresting Islamist leaders of the former regime headed by Omar al-Bashir, who was released from prison.
The army insisted on the need for the Rapid Support Forces to leave the cities it occupied.
- IGAD Summit 41
After the failure of the Jeddah negotiations, the Intergovernmental Authority for Development (IGAD) initiated African mediation and assigned, in June 2023, a quartet committee headed by Kenya, with the membership of South Sudan, Djibouti, and Ethiopia, for the negotiations.
Khartoum rejected the Kenyan presidency, claiming Kenyan President William Ruto sided with the Rapid Support Forces.
IGAD held a direct meeting between Burhan and RSF chief Hamdan Dagalo. But the Authority later postponed the meeting, citing "technical reasons."
Shortly after, Burhan made a surprise visit to Kenya, during which he held meetings with President Ruto and agreed on an emergency summit of presidents to establish a framework for the Sudanese dialogue.
In December, the IGAD 41st Extraordinary was held in Djibouti in the presence of Burhan and Dagalo. Interlocutors agreed to end the war without conditions and called for the postponed meeting between the two leaders.
The Sudanese Foreign Ministry rejected the summit's final statement, and Burhan refused to meet Dagalo.
- IGAD Summit 42
The Sudanese army boycotted the 42nd emergency IGAD summit, which was held in Uganda in January, in protest against RSF "Hemedti's" participation.
However, the summit continued its work in the absence of Sudan and decided to form an "international mechanism" based on the African Union's (AU) vision, which consists of a ceasefire and turning Khartoum into a demilitarized zone.
It also aims to deploy African forces to guard strategic institutions in the capital and combine the visions of the Jeddah platform and IGAD.

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Arab World

Iraq’s ‘Heist of the Century’ Returns to Spotlight with $5 Billion Figure

Former Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani announces the recovery of funds linked to the “Heist of the Century” scandal. (AFP)
Former Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani announces the recovery of funds linked to the “Heist of the Century” scandal. (AFP)
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Iraq’s ‘Heist of the Century’ Returns to Spotlight with $5 Billion Figure

Former Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani announces the recovery of funds linked to the “Heist of the Century” scandal. (AFP)
Former Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani announces the recovery of funds linked to the “Heist of the Century” scandal. (AFP)

Iraq’s massive tax embezzlement scandal - widely known as the “Heist of the Century” - has resurfaced with a dramatically higher estimated value of 8 trillion Iraqi dinars (about $5 billion), nearly double the amount originally announced when the scandal first erupted in October 2022.

The new figure was disclosed Tuesday by Talib al-Baidhani, a member of parliament’s Integrity Committee, who also revealed that about 30 additional individuals are now suspected of involvement in the case.

The latest development comes just days after parliament approved a new government led by Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi, a businessman with no political background who has pledged to strengthen the economy and fight corruption - promises repeated by successive Iraqi governments since 2003.

The scandal dates back roughly four years and centers on the theft of tax deposit funds through five shell companies allegedly working with officials from the General Commission for Taxes and Rafidain Bank, as well as senior state officials, lawmakers, contractors, and brokers.

Speaking to Iraq’s state newspaper, al-Baidhani said parliament’s Integrity Committee is determined to recover Iraqi stolen funds and continue pursuing the case in coordination with the Federal Integrity Commission.

The scandal first became public on October 18, 2022, when former Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi confirmed an investigation into the theft of tax trust funds and accused some parties of exploiting the case to shield corrupt figures.

Two months later, former Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani announced the recovery of more than 300 billion dinars, an amount critics described as negligible compared with the scale of the theft. Sudani promised the rest would be recovered, but his government later failed to do so.

Al-Baidhani, who belongs to the Asaib Ahl al-Haq movement, said some funds have already been recovered, while large sums remain outside Iraq and require coordinated efforts between parliament and al-Zaidi’s government to retrieve them.
He described the recovery effort as “the real beginning” of holding all those involved accountable for stolen public funds and suspicious deals.

Al-Baidhani added that the scandal was initially estimated at around 2.5 trillion dinars, but subsequent investigations by the Federal Integrity Commission uncovered much larger embezzlement operations, pushing the total to nearly 8 trillion dinars. He did not explain when or how those investigations were conducted.

In late October 2022, Iraqi authorities arrested the case’s main suspect, Nour Zuhair, chairman of one of the companies implicated in the scheme. He was later released on bail after Sudani announced the recovery of 5 percent of the stolen funds in exchange for Zuhair’s pledge to return the remaining money within days.

Shortly after his release, however, Zuhair fled Iraq and has remained missing ever since.

For years, Iraqi courts have continued issuing prison sentences against individuals linked to the tax theft, but without recovering the missing funds or apprehending the key suspects. The failure has fueled public criticism and accusations that the case is being used for political blackmail while influential political actors implicated “behind the scenes” remain protected.

Separately, al-Baidhani urged Iraq’s Foreign Ministry to recover properties tied to Saddam Hussein’s former regime through coordination with countries that have treaties with Iraq.

After Saddam Hussein’s fall in 2003, several Western governments froze Iraqi assets linked to the former regime and Hussein’s family under UN Security Council Resolution 1483, including bank accounts, real estate, and investments in countries such as France and Switzerland.

Arab World

Lebanon Limits Security Delegation’s Role to ‘Technical’ Talks with Israel

Lebanese Army troops deployed in central Beirut last week. (EPA)
Lebanese Army troops deployed in central Beirut last week. (EPA)
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Lebanon Limits Security Delegation’s Role to ‘Technical’ Talks with Israel

Lebanese Army troops deployed in central Beirut last week. (EPA)
Lebanese Army troops deployed in central Beirut last week. (EPA)

Hezbollah threatened on Tuesday to attack any armed force that coordinates with Israel if such a force were ever created. The warning came ahead of a planned security meeting between Lebanese and Israeli military representatives in Washington on May 29, even though Lebanese officials insist that no proposal to establish such a force exists.

According to official Lebanese sources speaking to Asharq Al-Awsat, the upcoming meeting will focus strictly on technical and logistical matters between representatives of the Lebanese and Israeli armies under US sponsorship and mediation.

Still, MP Hassan Fadlallah, a member of the party’s parliamentary bloc, issued a sharp warning against what he described as “American-Israeli talk” of creating a proxy armed force similar to the “Free Lebanon Army” established in 1978 and the “South Lebanon Army” formed in 1984, both of which collaborated with Israel.

Fadlallah said Hezbollah would confront any such force “as we confront the enemy.” At the same time, he praised the relationship between Hezbollah and the Lebanese Army, describing it as “excellent.”

Lebanese sources dismissed the MP’s remarks as reactions to “speculative media reports about the upcoming talks”.

Speaking to Asharq Al-Awsat, the sources said the idea of creating a pro-Israel Lebanese force “has never been discussed” in negotiations in Washington and has not been raised by any international envoy visiting Lebanon.

They added that the Lebanese Army categorically rejects any proposal to establish an independent force, an idea that had also circulated in local media reports.

Trilateral committee and expanded UN monitoring

The May 29 meeting is expected to focus on two proposals. The first involves establishing a trilateral committee made up of representatives from the Lebanese Army, the Israeli military, and the US Army. It would monitor ceasefire violations, oversee the Israeli withdrawal from Lebanese territory, and coordinate the deployment of the Lebanese Army in those areas.

The talks are also expected to address expanding the role of the United Nations Truce Supervision Organization (UNTSO), the UN’s first-ever peacekeeping mission, founded in May 1948 to monitor ceasefire agreements between Israel and neighboring states, including Lebanon. UNTSO observers are limited to monitoring and reporting duties rather than combat operations.

The sources said one proposal under discussion is to strengthen the observer mission by increasing the number of personnel and expanding its operations.

Unlike the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), which is expected to fully withdraw from Lebanon later this year, the UNTSO maintains only a small presence in Lebanon. Its observers, numbering only in the dozens, operate within the “Observer Group Lebanon” along the Blue Line to monitor the truce agreement between Lebanon and Israel.

Strictly military and technical files

The sources emphasized that the May 29 meeting will remain strictly technical and military in nature. Diplomatic negotiators, including Lebanon’s chief negotiator Ambassador Simon Karam and Lebanese Ambassador to Washington Nada Hamadeh Mouawad, are not expected to participate directly in the military discussions.

The agenda is likely to center on the ceasefire, Israeli withdrawal, and mechanisms for deploying the Lebanese Army in southern Lebanon.

The sources stressed that the meeting will not address Hezbollah’s weapons or any cooperation regarding its disarmament, saying those matters fall under the authority of the diplomatic negotiating team.

Hezbollah criticizes Lebanese leadership

Despite those assurances, Hezbollah continued to criticize the political and diplomatic approach pursued by Lebanese President Joseph Aoun to resolve the crisis. Relations between the party and Aoun remain strained.

Although Hezbollah appointed MP Fadlallah to coordinate with the presidency, Lebanese sources said he has neither met nor spoken with Aoun. The party has effectively suspended dialogue with the president, even though the presidential palace remains open, said the sources.

During a press conference in parliament, Fadlallah accused the government of breaking its commitment not to enter negotiations before a ceasefire was secured.

He questioned “how anyone can sit at a table with those continuing their crimes while Israel boasts of support from its allies in pursuing a destructive project.”

Fadlallah insisted that Lebanon’s only viable option is continued “resistance combined with indirect diplomacy backed by national unity and strength,” arguing that “no political alternative could compel Israel to halt the war and withdraw from Lebanese territory.”

In contrast, the Lebanese Kataeb Party called for broad national support for the negotiations in Washington, saying the process aims to consolidate the ceasefire, secure an Israeli withdrawal, end hostilities, free detainees, and allow displaced residents to return home.

The party accused Hezbollah of trying to keep Lebanon “a card in Iran’s hands” at the expense of South Lebanon and its residents.

Arab World

UN Considers Response to Israeli Move to Build a Military Compound on Site of Relief Agency

The front gate of the east Jerusalem compound of UNRWA is seen in east Jerusalem, May 10, 2024. (AP)
The front gate of the east Jerusalem compound of UNRWA is seen in east Jerusalem, May 10, 2024. (AP)
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UN Considers Response to Israeli Move to Build a Military Compound on Site of Relief Agency

The front gate of the east Jerusalem compound of UNRWA is seen in east Jerusalem, May 10, 2024. (AP)
The front gate of the east Jerusalem compound of UNRWA is seen in east Jerusalem, May 10, 2024. (AP)

The United Nations is considering how to respond to Israel's announcement that it will build a military complex on the former headquarters of the UN relief agency for Palestinians in east Jerusalem, an official said Tuesday.

Israel at the weekend announced the government's approval for a defense ministry complex at the United Nations Relief and Works Agency ’s compound in Sheikh Jarrah, including a museum and enlistment office.

“The matter is currently under consideration at the level of the legal council, the highest legal authority of the United Nations in New York,” UNRWA Deputy Commissioner General Natalie Boucly told The Associated Press during a visit to Syria.

“These are UN premises and, at a minimum, this is a breach of the 1946 UN Convention on privileges and immunities,” she said.

Israel bulldozed part of the UNRWA compound in January, capping off a decades-long campaign against the agency, which became acute following the Hamas-led attacks on Oct. 7, 2023.

Israel has accused the UN agency of harboring staff members affiliated with Hamas, accusing some of taking part in the attacks. UNRWA leaders have said they took swift action against the employees accused of taking part in the 2023 attacks, and have denied allegations that the agency tolerates or collaborates with Hamas.

Israel's Defense Minister Israel Katz said the plan to build a defense complex on the former UNRWA headquarters was “a decision of sovereignty, Zionism and security.”

“In a place where an organization that became part of the terror and incitement mechanism against Israel operated, institutions will be established that will strengthen Jerusalem, the (Israeli army), and the State of Israel,” Katz said in a statement on Sunday.

The decision came on Jerusalem Day, which marks Israel’s capture of east Jerusalem, including the Old City and its holy sites sacred to Jews, Christians and Muslims, in the 1967 Mideast war. Israel considers the entire city of Jerusalem its capital, while the Palestinians seek east Jerusalem as the capital of their future independent state.

The UNRWA compound was shut down in May 2025 after far-right protesters, including at least one member of parliament, overran its gate in view of the police.

UNRWA’s mandate is to provide aid and services to some 2.5 million Palestinian refugees in Gaza, the occupied West Bank and east Jerusalem, as well as 3 million refugees in Syria, Jordan and Lebanon. Its operations were curtailed last year when Israel’s Knesset passed legislation severing ties and banning it from functioning in what it defines as Israel — including east Jerusalem.

Boucly said the humanitarian situation in Gaza “remains absolutely dire.” While UNRWA international staff have been barred by Israel from entering Gaza, about 10,000 local staff continue to work in the enclave, including teachers, health workers and sanitation workers, she said.

Despite a tenuous ceasefire, “there are issues with insufficient aid coming in,” she said. “It is not coming in at scale and reconstruction is not starting fast enough for the people to see a real change on the ground.”

Boucly spoke to the AP from Syria's Yarmouk Palestinian refugee camp, where the situation is somewhat more hopeful as former residents who fled during the country's 14-year civil war have been gradually returning.

Taken over by a series of armed groups then bombarded by the military of then President Bashar al-Assad, the camp was all but abandoned after 2018. The buildings that were not destroyed by bombs were demolished by the government or stripped by thieves.

After Assad's ouster in 2024, former residents began to trickle back and repair their damaged homes. As of April, some 60,000 people had returned to the camp, of which 80% are Palestinian refugees, Boucly said.

Assistance to those returning to the camp has been limited, she acknowledged. UNRWA has received donor aid to rehabilitate schools and health centers, but has been unable to provide more than minor assistance to people needing to repair their damaged homes, she said.

Despite anxieties about shrinking funding, she said, “I think there is a situation of hope for Palestine refugees” in Syria.