A recent opinion piece in The National Interest argues that President Donald Trump should press for the removal of SAF chief Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, saying his alleged ties to Iran and Islamist groups threaten regional stability and U.S. interests.
Author Natalia Quadros contends that al-Burhan’s alliance with Tehran has turned Sudan into “a launching pad for Iran’s regional ambitions,” citing reports of Iranian drones and advisers aiding General al-Burhan’s army (SAF) units in the country’s civil war. She warns that Iranian influence along the Red Sea could endanger global shipping lanes and “offer extremist groups fertile ground to thrive.”
The article calls on Washington to build an international coalition—including the European Union, African Union, and Arab League—to impose diplomatic isolation and asset freezes on al-Burhan. It also urges Egypt and Saudi Arabia to increase pressure on Sudan’s warring parties and back a transition to a civilian government “untainted by Islamist networks.”
Sudan has been locked in conflict since April 2023, when fighting broke out between the SAF, led by al-Burhan, and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) commanded by Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo (Hemedti). An RSF-aligned political bloc announced Tasis “unity government” in Nairobi in April 2024, but clashes have continued, displacing millions.
Quadros praises Trump’s record of sanctioning Iran and withdrawing from the 2015 nuclear deal, arguing that Sudan is now the “new front” in countering Tehran. Sanctions alone, she writes, “will not bring al-Burhan to heel,” and the general should be excluded from any future power-sharing arrangement.
The U.S. State Department last month accused both Sudanese factions of widespread rights abuses but has not called explicitly for al-Burhan’s removal.
