Sudanese commander Gen. Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, better known as Hemedti, on Tuesday denounced Iran’s overnight missile barrage against Qatar, calling it “a blatant violation of sovereignty that threatens the entire Middle East with a wider conflagration.”
In a statement posted to his official Truth account, the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) chief said the strike on Al Udeid Air Base “poses an existential danger to regional stability and cannot go unanswered.” Dagalo urged Tehran “to resolve disputes through dialogue, not force” and to “end its interference in the internal affairs of its neighbors.”
Qatari and U.S. officials said Iran fired at least a dozen ballistic missiles at the U.S-run airfield outside Doha late Monday, hours after Washington and Israel struck Iranian nuclear sites. Qatar’s air defenses intercepted most of the projectiles, and no casualties were reported, according to the Pentagon and Qatar’s Defense Ministry.
Dagalo, whose forces have been locked in a brutal civil war with General al-Burhan’s army (SAF) since April 2023, framed the Iranian attack as part of a broader pattern of destabilizing behavior. “We in the RSF reiterate that Iran must never obtain a nuclear weapon,” he wrote. “Such a development would inflame tensions and imperil global security.”
The RSF leader—who has sought to portray his movement as a bulwark against Islamist militancy—also appealed to Gulf and African capitals to “redouble diplomatic efforts to halt ongoing wars” and to champion “peace, non-aggression and mutual respect among nations.”
His remarks come as Arab Gulf states line up to censure Tehran. Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates condemned the strike, while the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council scheduled an emergency meeting for Wednesday.
Dagalo’s foray into Gulf diplomacy underscores the RSF’s effort to burnish its international credentials even as fighting rages in Sudan.
The Sudanese group controls large swaths of Darfur and much of greater Khartoum; the SAF retains Port Sudan and parts of the Nile Valley.
SAF has been accused of recent chemical attacks against civilians in Darfur by the HRW.
Analysts say the RSF sees Iran’s attack on Qatar as an opportunity to align itself with Sunni Arab states alarmed by Tehran’s military reach.
“Hemedti is signaling that the RSF is open for business with any actor opposed to Iranian expansionism,” said Jonas Horner, a Sudan specialist at the International Crisis Group.
In his post, Dagalo urged the U.N. Security Council and major powers to “act decisively” to deter further missile attacks and revive diplomacy. “The peoples of our region deserve stability and prosperity,” he wrote. “They cannot afford another conflict.”
