Sudanese-Israeli Relations: From Secret Beginnings to a Public End

Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, the head of Sudan’s Sovereign Council, reportedly met Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Uganda on February 3, 2020 (AFP)
Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, the head of Sudan’s Sovereign Council, reportedly met Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Uganda on February 3, 2020 (AFP)
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Sudanese-Israeli Relations: From Secret Beginnings to a Public End

Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, the head of Sudan’s Sovereign Council, reportedly met Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Uganda on February 3, 2020 (AFP)
Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, the head of Sudan’s Sovereign Council, reportedly met Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Uganda on February 3, 2020 (AFP)

The meeting between Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, Chairman of the Sovereign Council of Sudan, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Uganda two days ago made the relations between the countries public, adding Sudan to the list of countries in contact with Israel.

These secret Sudanese-Israeli relations go back to the beginning of the 1980s when secret meetings took place between former President Gaafar Muhammad Nimeiry and former Defense Minister Ariel Sharon through an Arab mediator. These meetings later paved the way for the deportation of Falasha (Ethiopian Jews) to Tel Aviv.

After the international press revealed the meeting, Nimeiry asked Israel and the US to stop the operation and not to disclose his role in smuggling Falasha Jews. The US, however, started to put pressure Nimeiry in 1985 during a visit by US Vice President George Bush to Khartoum meant to resume the smuggling operation, famously known as the “Saba” operation. Nimeiry succumbed to the pressure on the condition that they are transported to European countries, including Israel.

Sharon recalls in his memoirs that the first meeting with Nimeiry took place during the funeral service of Egyptian President Anwar Sadat in Cairo. He was there as part of an Israeli delegation to give condolences.

Sharon said: “I met with Nimeiry for the second time in 1982 to discuss strategic issues that concern Africa. The meeting was arranged by a former Israeli officer in the intelligence services, Yaacob Namrud, and an Arab businessman”. He then added that “I discussed with Nimeiry another issue that was of paramount importance to Sudan and Israel,” hinting at the issue of transporting Falasha Jews to Israel.

The secret communications between Israel and Sudan were discontinued after Nimeiry’s regime was overthrown by the popular revolution in 1985. The Sudanese officials in the security services and the regime were persecuted for taking part in this transportation of the Falasha.

Ousted President Omar al-Bashir maintained public hostility to Israel, considering his extremist Islamic ideology, and joined the camp of countries that are opposed to Israel in the region. This case of normalization of relations with Israel remained present during the marathon negotiations that took place between the overthrown regime and the CIA regarding fighting terrorism after the September 11 attacks.

Reliable sources indicate that one of the conditions that the US kept putting on the table during negotiations with Sudan to remove it from the terrorism list and ending economic sanctions was taking a favorable position towards Israel. This was not rejected by Sudanese negotiators.

Under heavy US pressure and increasing international isolation, the ousted regime responded by cutting relations with Iran and ceasing all support of Hamas, a position that is favorable for Israel. Observers have found that in recent years, the regime has sent positive signs to Israel, expressed by the former Foreign Minister Ibrahim Ghandour, who did not dismiss the possibility of discussing normalizing relations with Israel during discussions with the US over removing the sanctions.

Wikileaks released a conversation with the advisor to the overthrown president, Mostafa Osman Ismail, where he pushed for Washington’s suggestion to normalize ties with Israel as a condition for restoring relations with the US.

Mubarak al Fadil al Mahdi, the Minister of Investment in the last government formation under Bashir before it was overthrown, publicly stated his support of diplomatic relations between Israel and Sudan. He said: “The Sudanese do not find relations with Israel problematic.”



What to Know About Bunker-Buster Bombs and Iran’s Fordo Nuclear Facility

 In this photo released by the US Air Force on May 2, 2023, airmen look at a GBU-57, or the Massive Ordnance Penetrator bomb, at Whiteman Air Base in Missouri.(US Air Force via AP, File)
In this photo released by the US Air Force on May 2, 2023, airmen look at a GBU-57, or the Massive Ordnance Penetrator bomb, at Whiteman Air Base in Missouri.(US Air Force via AP, File)
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What to Know About Bunker-Buster Bombs and Iran’s Fordo Nuclear Facility

 In this photo released by the US Air Force on May 2, 2023, airmen look at a GBU-57, or the Massive Ordnance Penetrator bomb, at Whiteman Air Base in Missouri.(US Air Force via AP, File)
In this photo released by the US Air Force on May 2, 2023, airmen look at a GBU-57, or the Massive Ordnance Penetrator bomb, at Whiteman Air Base in Missouri.(US Air Force via AP, File)

If the US decides to support Israel more directly in its attack on Iran, one option for Washington would be to provide the "bunker-buster" bombs believed necessary to significantly damage the Fordo nuclear fuel enrichment plant, built deeply into a mountain.

Such a bomb would have to be dropped from an American aircraft, which could have wide-ranging ramifications, including jeopardizing any chance of Iran engaging in Trump's desired talks on its nuclear program. Israeli officials have also suggested that there are other options for it to attack Fordo as it seeks to destroy Iran's nuclear capabilities.

But aside from a commando attack on the ground or a nuclear strike, the bunker buster bomb seems the most likely option.

What is the bunker-buster bomb? "Bunker buster" is a broad term used to describe bombs that are designed to penetrate deep below the surface before exploding. In this case, it refers to the latest GBU-57 A/B Massive Ordnance Penetrator bomb in the American arsenal. The roughly 30,000 pound (13,600 kilogram) precision-guided bomb is designed to attack deeply buried and hardened bunkers and tunnels, according to the US Air Force.

It's believed to be able to penetrate about 200 feet (61 meters) below the surface before exploding, and the bombs can be dropped one after another, effectively drilling deeper and deeper with each successive blast.

The bomb carries a conventional warhead, but the International Atomic Energy Agency has confirmed that Iran is producing highly enriched uranium at Fordo, raising the possibility that nuclear material could be released into the area if the GBU-57 A/B were used to hit the facility.

However, Israeli strikes at another Iranian nuclear site, Natanz, on a centrifuge site have caused contamination only at the site itself, not the surrounding area, the IAEA has said.

How tough a target is Fordo? Fordo is Iran's second nuclear enrichment facility after Natanz, its main facility. So far, Israeli strikes aren’t known to have damaged Natanz’s underground enrichment hall, nor have the Israelis targeted tunnels the Iranians are digging nearby.

Fordo is smaller than Natanz, and is built into the side of a mountain near the city of Qom, about 60 miles (95 kilometers) southwest of Tehran. Construction is believed to have started around 2006 and it became first operational in 2009 — the same year Tehran publicly acknowledged its existence.

In addition to being an estimated 80 meters (260 feet) under rock and soil, the site is reportedly protected by Iranian and Russian surface-to-air missile systems. Those air defenses, however, likely have already been struck in the Israeli campaign.

Still, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said the goal of attacking Iran was to eliminate its missile and nuclear program, which he described as an existential threat to Israel, and officials have said Fordo was part of that plan.

"This entire operation ... really has to be completed with the elimination of Fordo," Yechiel Leiter, Israel's ambassador to the US, told Fox News on Friday.

Why does the US need to be involved? In theory, the GBU-57 A/B could be dropped by any bomber capable of carrying the weight, but at the moment the US has only configured and programed its B-2 Spirit stealth bomber to deliver the bomb, according to the Air Force.

The B-2 is only flown by the Air Force, and is produced by Northrop Grumman.

According to the manufacturer, the B-2 can carry a payload of 40,000 pounds (18,000 kilograms) but the US Air Force has said it has successfully tested the B-2 loaded with two GBU-57 A/B bunker busters — a total weight of some 60,000 pounds (27,200 kilograms).

The strategic long-range heavy bomber has a range of about 7,000 miles (11,000 kilometers) without refueling and 11,500 miles (18,500 kilometers) with one refueling, and can reach any point in the world within hours, according to Northrop Grumman.

Whether the US would get involved is another matter.

At the G7 meeting in Canada, Trump was asked what it would take for Washington to become involved militarily and he said: "I don't want to talk about that."

In a weekend interview with ABC News, Israeli Ambassador Leiter was asked about the possibility of the US helping attack Fordo and he emphasized Israel has only asked the US for defensive help.

"We have a number of contingencies ... which will enable us to deal with Fordo," he said.

"Not everything is a matter of, you know, taking to the skies and bombing from afar."