The Washington Post reported on Tuesday, October 15, that weapons secretly supplied by foreign countries to both sides of the conflict in Sudan—including ammunition and drones sent by the Iranian regime and the United Arab Emirates—are fueling Sudan’s devastating civil war.
In the section concerning Iran, the report, based on classified assessments, a report funded by the U.S. State Department, and evidence collected from weapons seized in Sudan, revealed that the Sudanese army has been using foreign-armed drones, particularly those covertly supplied by the Iranian regime, since late last year.
The report tracked seven flights between Iran and Sudan from December 2023 to July 2024, identifying four as military flights that returned to the Iranian Air Force base at Tehran Airport. According to the report, three other planes turned off their transponders when landing in Iran, a “suspicious behavior” suggesting they were also carrying military cargo.
Although Sudanese military officials denied receiving drones from the Iranian government, a Sudanese security official confirmed the accuracy of the report in an interview with The Washington Post. The newspaper said Iranian regime officials did not respond to requests for comment.
Sudan’s civil war began in April 2023 after months of escalating tensions between the military and the so-called Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
In addition to Iran and the UAE, countries such as Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Russia are closely monitoring developments in Sudan due to its strategic location on the Red Sea, through which about 12% of the world’s shipping passes.
In 2023, Sudanese military leaders restored relations with Tehran after an eight-year break in ties between Sudan and Iran.
The report states that secret flights from Iran to Sudan began in December of the same year, using an aircraft previously identified by the U.S. government as being involved in transporting weapons to Syrian fighters linked to the Iranian regime.
According to the report, these flights were operated by the Iranian company Fars Air Qeshm, originating from Tehran’s Mehrabad Airport, stopping in Bandar Abbas, and then heading to their destination in Port Sudan.
The report highlights the growing presence of Iranian-made weapons in Sudan, citing the downing of an Iranian-made Mohajer-6 drone in Khartoum, a Mohajer-6 ground control station, and significant quantities of Iranian-made artillery and ammunition discovered in the country.
