War in Iran is affecting a key ally of Sudan's General Burhan — the Islamists

Sudan, which grapples with its own tensions, is now facing the heat of the crisis in West Asia, especially the ongoing war between the United States and Iran. The conflict has brought the influence of hardliners from the former Islamist regime and “mujahideen” aligned with the Sudanese Armed Forces back under scrutiny.

According to the Financial Times, amid the war, the US, Israel and the UAE are stamping out residual Iranian influence and weapons flows. This is preventing the Sudanese Muslim Brotherhood from reasserting control within Sudan. The instability in the Islamist faction complicates the task for Sudan’s de facto military ruler, General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan.

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The Sudanese leader usually relies on these Islamists to fight on the battlefield. The Islamists were instrumental in recapturing the capital, Khartoum, last year. With the factions struggling, Burhan is out of alternatives.

The Iran factor

Iran re-entered the Sudanese conflict back in 2023 by supplying drones, ammunition, and training to SAF-aligned Islamist groups after years of reduced influence. This worried the US, Israel, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE. Muslim Brotherhood resurgence and threats to Red Sea security were the two main causes of the worry.

In light of this, Washington has sanctioned Islamist groups linked to the SAF, including the Muslim Brotherhood and the al-Baraa bin Malik brigade, accusing them of prolonging the war with Iranian support.

This puts Buhran in a bad position since he depends on these Islamist forces militarily, but also wants international legitimacy, leaving him politically trapped: removing them risks weakening the SAF coalition.

The big dilemma now is that the SF is accused by the US and UN of genocide, mass killings, rape, and looting. But many Sudanese also fear the return of authoritarian Islamist rule through the SAF’s growing reliance on Islamist militias.

Hence, Sudanese are effectively trapped between two destructive forces: the brutal RSF and the authoritarian Islamist elements embedded within the SAF, making it a choice between the bad and the worse. Hence, the tussle between RSF and SAF has now gone beyond just faction clash.

It is more about a struggle over Sudan’s state, regional influence and even the future of political Islam in northeast Africa.