AFP/Port Sudan
Two Iranian warships docked in Port Sudan yesterday, a witness said, marking the second port call by the Iranian navy in Sudan in five weeks.
The Iranian navy said the 1,400 ton frigate Jamaran and the 4,700 ton support ship Bushehr “docked in Port Sudan, after successfully carrying out their assignments in the Red Sea and were greeted by high-ranking Sudanese naval commanders”.
Khartoum said it was a “normal” port call but Israeli officials have expressed concern about arms smuggling through Sudan.
They have long accused the African country of serving as a base of support for militants from the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas which rules the Gaza Strip.
Sudanese army spokesman Sawarmi Khaled Saad had initially announced the warship visit for November 30.
“It is part of diplomatic and military exchanges between the two countries,” and will last for three days, he told reporters on Friday night.
A pair of Iranian navy vessels, the supply ship Kharg and corvette Admiral Naghdi, spent about two days at Port Sudan in late October.
Sudan’s links with Iran have come under scrutiny after Khartoum accused Israel of an October 23 strike against the Yarmouk military factory in the capital, which led to speculation that Iranian weapons were stored or manufactured there.