Sudan Says Will Resume Diplomatic Relations with Iran

Sudan says it will restore diplomatic relations with Iran, seven years after the two countries severed their ties.

The decision to resume relations "came after a number of high-level communications between the two countries and will serve their mutual interests," the Foreign Ministry said in a statement on October 9.

In July, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian held talks with his Sudanese counterpart, Ali al-Sadiq Ali, on the sidelines of a ministerial meeting of the Non-Aligned Movement in Baku.

The two ministers “discussed how to imminently resume diplomatic ties between Khartoum and Tehran," Amir-Abdollahian tweeted after the meeting.

Sudan cut diplomatic ties with Iran in 2016 after the Saudi embassy in Tehran was stormed by protesters during a dispute over the execution of a Shia cleric in Sunni-ruled Saudi Arabia.

Tehran and Riyadh agreed to resume relations in March under a deal brokered by China, raising expectations that Iran would fully re-establish diplomatic relations with other Arab countries. 

Iran has intensified its diplomacy with friends and foes alike in recent months, seeking to reduce its isolation, improve its economy and project strength.