The Sudanese government, currently based in Port Sudan as a temporary capital, has officially denied sending any envoy to Israel.
This comes in response to Israeli media reports claiming that the head of the Transitional Sovereignty Council and de facto Prime Minister, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, had secretly dispatched a personal envoy to Tel Aviv.
The alleged mission was reportedly aimed at seeking military and diplomatic support, promoting Burhan to the new US administration, allaying Israeli concerns over Khartoum’s growing ties with Tehran, and aiding the Sudanese army in its war against the Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
In a brief statement broadcast by the state news agency (SUNA), Minister of Culture and Information and official government spokesperson, Khalid Ali Aleisir, said that the media reports were “completely unfounded.” He asserted that the Sudanese government had not sent “any envoy” to Israel and called on media outlets to “exercise accuracy, objectivity, and professionalism, and to avoid spreading unreliable information.”
These comments were issued following a report by The Jerusalem Post and other Israeli media outlets on Monday, which claimed that Burhan had secretly dispatched his former chief of staff, Lieutenant General Al-Sadiq Ismail, to Tel Aviv last week to meet with Israeli officials.
The Jerusalem Post stated that the purpose of the secret visit was to coordinate Israel’s support in promoting Burhan to the new US administration, providing military aid to the Sudanese army in its conflict against the RSF, and encouraging the advancement of normalization efforts with Tel Aviv — including finalizing Sudan’s involvement in the Abraham Accords.
This is not the first time Burhan has stirred controversy over Sudan-Israel relations. On February 3, 2020, he surprised Sudan’s civilian leaders in the transitional government when he met Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Uganda. At the time, Asharq Al-Awsat reported that the two agreed to initiate cooperation as a step toward normalizing relations.
In response to local and Palestinian backlash over the meeting, Burhan defended his decision, saying it was driven by the desire to “serve the higher interests of the Sudanese people.” However, this justification failed to convince his civilian counterparts in the transitional government, led by then-Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok.
