Iran and Sudan seek to restore bilateral relations after seven years of rupture

July 7 (EUROPA PRESS) –

The authorities of Iran and Sudan have discussed this Thursday about the possibility of reestablishing bilateral relations after more than seven years of rupture between the two countries.

The Iranian Foreign Minister, Hossein Amirabdolahian, has met with his Sudanese counterpart, Ali al Sadiq, in a meeting on the sidelines of a summit of the Coordination Bureau of the Non-Aligned Movement held in Azerbaijan, in which it was the first meeting as top diplomatic officials in recent years.

According to a statement from the Iranian Foreign Ministry, the two sides have discussed extensive relations “before Khartoum broke ties with Tehran” and have discussed “ways to restore ties” as “as soon as possible.”

Amirabdolahian has pointed out that Sudan is an “important and fundamental country in the Muslim world”, and has expressed his hope that “security and peace will be restored in the African country in the shortest possible time”.

Al Sadiq, for his part, has transferred to his counterpart the current situation in Sudan, as well as the “most relevant” events, as can be read in the letter.

Sudan broke relations with the Iranian authorities in 2016 in protest of the attack on the Saudi embassy in Tehran during protests over the execution of a prominent Saudi Shiite cleric. Bahrain also announced the end of diplomatic ties, thus following in the footsteps of Saudi Arabia, which announced the day before that it was breaking off already tense relations with Iran.

In recent months, Iran and Saudi Arabia have agreed to restore diplomatic ties, so Tehran reopened its embassy in Riyadh in early June.