Iran and Sudan look to restore diplomatic ties

DUBAI (Reuters) -Iran and Sudan said on Thursday they were planning to restore ties after the Iranian foreign minister met his acting Sudanese counterpart for the first time since diplomatic relations between the two countries were severed seven years ago.

Sudan’s foreign ministry said in a statement that the meeting, on the sidelines of a Non-Aligned Movement meeting in Azerbaijan’s capital Baku, had discussed restoring relations “as soon as possible”.

Sudan’s acting Foreign Minister, Ali Sadeq, also thanked Iran for supplying humanitarian aid through the Iranian Crescent during the conflict between Sudan’s army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian tweeted: “Our delegation met with the Sudanese foreign minister and discussed how to imminently resume diplomatic ties between Khartoum and Tehran.”

“In this meeting, talks were directed at resolving misunderstandings between the two countries and strengthening the political and economic relations between Tehran and Khartoum,” Iran’s official IRNA news agency said.

Sudan cut diplomatic ties with Iran in 2016 following the storming of the Saudi Arabian Embassy in Tehran.

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

Sudan’s Sadeq was quoted as saying the deal between Saudi Arabia and Iran would enhance security and stability in the region and the Islamic world.

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