Despite the severe defeat in Syria following the fall of the regime of dictator Bashar al-Assad, Iran continues to plan how to expand its military sphere of influence in the Middle East. It seems that Tehran has already marked its next target, not far from Israel, and is pressing to expand its influence in Sudan, a country that is a member of the Abraham Accords with Israel.
Even before Assad's fall, but in parallel with the severe blow suffered by Hezbollah in Lebanon from the IDF, Iran began working in recent months with the Sudanese army to obtain a permit to build a military port in the city of Port Sudan, on the shores of the Red Sea, Bloomberg reported on Wednesday.
An Iranian military port in the heart of the Red Sea will give Iran a strategic and important foothold in one of the most important regions of the Middle East, and the most sensitive for Israel.
In the past year, Iran has renewed its relations with Sudan after a significant break in recent years. Sudan itself has been engaged in a very difficult and bloody civil war for more than a year and a half between the army led by the country's official commander, General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and the "Rapid Intervention" forces, known by the acronym RSF, under the command of senior general Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, known by the nickname "Hemdati."
For many months, the Revolutionary Guards have been supplying the Sudanese army with large quantities of weapons, ammunition, and especially attack drones, which are a very important component of this war.
In recent months, Iranian airlines affiliated with the Revolutionary Guards have established a cargo flight route around the Arabian Peninsula and landing in Port Sudan to meet the security needs of the Sudanese army.
Following the takeover of the capital Khartoum by the RSF forces, the Sudanese army's headquarters are concentrated in Port Sudan, on the shores of the Red Sea.
Iran is not the only country stirring the Sudanese cauldron and seeking to reap strategic gains. Russia also supports the Sudanese army and provides it with fuel and ammunition, and Turkey also provides attack drones to General al-Burhan's army. At first, it seemed that the rebels from the RSF had the upper hand, but in recent months, as the war progresses and the Sudanese army has accumulated allies, it is clear that it is on its way to victory.
The UAE is the biggest supporter of the RSF, with the help of Russia's Wagner Group and General Khalifa Haftar, who controls eastern Libya.
* Mako contributed to this article.
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