Special to WorldTribune.com
Iran may be losing its grip on its gateway to Africa as Sudan moves closer to Saudi Arabia.
Saudi Arabia has deposited $1 billion in the central bank of sanctions-hit Sudan over the past two months, the Sudanese state minister for finance said on Aug. 12.
“We received a deposit for the amount of $1 billion from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in two installments, $500 million this month and $500 million last month,” Sudan Finance Minister Abdul Rahman Dirar told a press conference.
The windfall for Khartoum was expected after Sudan joined the Saudi-led coalition fighting Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen.
Iran and Sudan have never been strategic allies, but have in the last few decades established military, economic and religious ties.
The first sign of a crack in Iran-Sudan relations came in September 2014, when Sudan ordered all of Iran’s cultural centers to be closed and gave Iranian diplomats 72 hours to leave the country. Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Hossein-Amir Abdollahian initially denied the news and said “some want to destroy the good ties between Teheran and Khartoum.” The website for Sudan’s Foreign Ministry confirmed the news.
According to the Khartoum government, investments in Sudan from Arab Gulf states will amount to $20 billion. That includes $10 billion from Saudi Arabia, $6 billion from UAE and $5 billion from Kuwait.
Iran loses ground in Africa as Sudan joins Saudi coalition in Yemen added by World Tribune on
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