{{The Sudanese foreign minister Ali Karti disclosed that his government turned down several offers by Iran by which it would have installed air defense systems on the Red Sea coast.}}
In an interview with the London-based al-Hayat newspaper published on Thursday, the minister said that this military platform “was intended to be directed against Saudi Arabia”.
Karti reiterated that Khartoum has no special ties with Tehran and only an insignificant level of military cooperation.
“This is not true, our relationship with Iran is very normal and below the level [you would expect] between two Muslim nations and especially that Iran stood with Sudan in all international forums and defended it a lot,” he empathized.
“But there is a minor need for Sudan in light of the security challenges facing the country , and we have said this over and over that Sudan benefits from its relationship with Iran in a limited way in the field of maintenance of some of the weapons produced by some Sudanese factories,” Karti added.
The Sudanese top diplomat said that his government is willing to have this cooperation with Iran to “monitored and observed”.
He stressed that there are no Iranian military experts in his country or Iranian weapons crossing from Sudan to any other nation.
In late 2012, Khartoum denied reports that it has approved an Iranian request for building a naval base off the Red Sea.
Since 2012, Port Sudan has become a regular stop for Iranian warships drawing concern by the US and its allies in the Gulf. Khartoum insists that its relations with Iran are based on common interests and not intended to threaten the interests of the Arab Gulf states.
Iran says that In line with international efforts to combat piracy its Navy has been conducting anti-piracy patrols in the Gulf of Aden since November 2008 to safeguard the vessels involved in maritime trade, especially the ships and oil tankers owned or leased by Tehran.
Israel also accuses Sudan of serving as a hub for weapons coming from Iran that are sent to Palestinian militants.
Last March, Israeli navy commandos seized a ship in the Red Sea off the Sudanese coast that was allegedly hiding Syrian-made M-302 surface-to-surface missiles supplied by Iran.
The mostly Sunni Muslim Arab Gulf states are wary of Iranian influence in the Middle East, fearing the Shiite-led country is seeking regional dominance that will stir sectarian tensions.
Karti further explained that Tehran’s backing of proliferating Shiite faith in Sudan “does not reflect the official will of the country’s government”.
The Sudanese official has in the past criticized his government’s move to receive Iranian vessels and said that he recommended against the move.
sudantribune
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