November 08-2013
Fearing to anger important Arab states, Sudan has refused an Iranian offer to build air defense sites even though the goal is to enable Sudan to shoot Israeli planes.
The Sudanese foreign minister, Ali Ahmed Karti, announced Khartoum rejected the Iranian to enable Sudan to stop Israeli attacks.
It is widely believed that Israel carried out at least two air strikes in eastern Sudan in 2009 and 2011 against targets involved in smuggling Iranian arms through Sudan on their way to Gaza.
In an interview with Al-Youm At-Tali daily newspaper published Saturday, Karti stressed that Sudan’s ties with Iran, which are close, would not come at the expense of its relations with Arab countries.
The foreign minister has publicly expressed his opposition to the government’s decision to allow Iranian warships to dock in Port Sudan. Tehran has since docked its navy vessels there three times.
Arab states, Saudi Arabia in particular, are understood to have been angered by the close links between Iran and Sudan.
Karti’s remarks indicated that Sudan likes its ties with Iran but feels a need to limit them in order to maintain good standing in the Arab community.
Last August, Sudan said Saudi Arabia blocked Sudanese President Omer Hassan al-Bashir’s plane from entering its airspace as he tried to fly to Iran for the inauguration of President Hassan Rohani.
Riyadh said Khartoum failed to obtain flight clearance in advance, denying the move was politically motivated.