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 Re: الحرس الثورى يبنى مصنعاً للاسلحة الايرانية بالسودان (Re: Nazar Yousif)
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Saturday, March 6, 2010
Iran's Military Relationship With Sudan
Iran's relationship with Sudan is one of its largest success stories in terms of its foreign relations campaigns. Sudan is a Sunni-Arab state that was allied with the west, then through an Islamic revolution became an Islamic theocracy allied with Iran and now serves as a solid stepping stone for Iran's military cooperation with the African continent.
The military relationship between Khartoum and Tehran can be traced back to 1985 revolution against the pro-western Jaafar Nimeiry and the 1989 coup that brought Omar al-Bashir to power, Tehran, desperate to gain allies in the Arab world during their war with Iraq, supported the fledgling Islamic government through investing in oil infrastructure and providing small arms, and by some accounts, heavy artillery and tanks to the army (1) During the same time period, Iran began financing the first of many Chinese arms sales to Sudan, in 1991, China delivered $300 million worth of weapons, including two helicopters, a hundred 1,000 lb bombs, as well as ammunition for small arms.(2)This was followed in 1991 by a visit from then-Iranian-president Rafsanjani who pledged $17 million in financial aid as well as funding the purchase of $300 million worth of Chinese arms.(3) Also included in this was a deal for an unspecified number of small arms including the HK G3 assault rifle, medium range artillery, most likely the 122 mm towed D30, or 122 mm MLRS, YMIII anti-tank mines and the 60 mm Fateh and 82 mm HM15 mortar's. (4)
It was at this point that the assistance shifted from purely material to training as well as ideological. In 1992, upwards of 2,000 Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corp (IRGC) advisor's went to Sudan in order to train the Sudanese Popular Defence Force (PDF). In fact, the entire organization and doctrine of the PDF is based around the idea of popular mobilization that defined the IRGC at the time. (5) (6) Another use of the IRGC personnel in Sudan was to train Hezbollah operatives and set up the infrastructure that would be used by other Islamic terror organizations. It was also at this time that there was dialogue between Al Qaeda and Iran on the matter of putting aside ideological differences and focusing on the greater enemy, the US and Israel, these conferences were mediated by Hasan al-Turabi, an extremist in the employ of the Sudanese government at the time. The result of this temporary cease-fire and the allowance of Al Qaeda to use Pasdaran training camps in Sudan.(7) However after the expulsion of Al Qaeda elements from Sudan, this cooperation appears to have been ceased.
The next major development was in 1993 when Iran financed the purchase of 20 Chinese attack aircraft, most likely the Nanchang A-5. In return for this deal, Sudan granted the Iranian navy full use of its facilities, a deal that would become a major factor in future Iranian dealings in the region. (8)
Also in 1993, it was reported that Sudan was flying ex-Iraqi Mig-23's that had been captured by Iran as they fled destruction in 1991 during the first Gulf War. This is entirely feasible as they have never entered Iranian service and have always been assumed to be in storage gathering dust, that being said the source is a Sudanese opposition leader and as such, the information should be taken with a grain of salt. (9)
Following up in 1995 a delegation from Tehran assessed the growing needs of the Sudanese military and delivered large amounts of heavy artillery, armoured cars and radar, with the countries signing a mutual agreement a year later to boost defence. (10) In Early 1997, following the escalation of civil war that had ravaged Sudan, Tehran began massive airlift operations to Khartoum, supplying them with food, medicine and weapons as well as training Sudanese officers in Iran. Meanwhile the IRGC advisor's, now numbering around 400, participated in massive logistical and infrastructure projects, both military and non-military. (11)
However, following the election of the moderate Khatami in 1997, military assistance to Sudan tapered off, largely indicative of the overall softening of Iran's foreign policy. That being said, while there was no large 'glossy' deals, there was a fairly constant rise in in the low-level export of small-arms and ammunition In 1999, the level was at about roughly $1 million worth, then rose to roughly $3 million in 2000, then roughly $5 million in 2002, and then spikes massively to $15.8 million in 2003 and then decreased to $1.2 million in 2004. At this time, China largely took over most of the near-monopoly Iran had previously had on small arms sales to Sudan, providing more then $20 million worth in 2005.(12) Small arms experienced a resurgence, in 2003 and 2004, respectively, we saw 15,800,514 and 1,242,676 units of small arms and related parts being exported to Sudan, however following the power turnover to Ahmadinejad in 2005, this dropped to 452,069 units, and further decreased to 183,247 in 2006, though it slightly rose to 817,530 in 2007. (13)
Then in 2004 we saw the first major transfer of equipment to Sudan since the mid-90's. Sudan purchased $7,799,146 worth of "tanks and other armored fighting vehicles". It is most likely that these are the Safir-74/T-72Z tanks. Iran could either be exporting the tank's directly from their stocks made from captured Iraqi armor, or they could be upgrading Sudans current stock of T-54/55's and Type-69's.(14) In Sudan, it goes by the name 'Al-Zubair 1'. Also included in the purchase is the Rakhsh APC, first seen in 2005 patrolling the streets of Khartoum during protests surrounding the death of rebel leader John Garang. (15)
Here is a picture of a Safir-74/T-72Z taken from a video of a military parade as well as the Rakhsh APC's.
The second major transfer of armor came in 2006 when Sudan purchased a number of Boragh AFV's, which goes by the domestic name of Khatim-1 (16) Although it hasn't yet been seen in service.
In 2008, several important developments took place. First was the conclusion of bilateral talks in March, first started in 2007, surrounding the establishment of military cooperation. The agreement was focused on the issue of evading sanctions, problems that plague both countries, through the establishment of various domestic industries. (17) The deal had eight specific points, 1) A shift by Sudan from Chinese and Russian made equipment, to Iranian, 2) A 50% discount on Iranian arms sold to Sudan, 3) The establishment of factories in Sudan for the production of Iranian weapons. I assume this would be an extension of Diomil rather then a license sold to Sudan, 4) Mutual defence pact, 5) An Exchange of delegations of each sides respective army, navy and air force, 6) The construction and exploitation of oil-fields, hydroelectric facilities, ports and other infrastructure. (18) However I should mention, the source for the specifics of the deal is Debka File, an extremely sketchy newspaper, so I would advise everyone to read it with a very large grain of salt. Next was the claim that rebels shot down an an Ababil UAV. However i'm dubious about this because there is no other reports of Iranian UAV's in Sudan, in addition to that it was reported that there was Chinese lettering on the side of the UAV, an observation corroborated by the fact that Sudan is known to operate several Chinese UAV's. (19) (20)
Finally, in 2009 we saw a major development that highlighted the special relationship that exists between Iran and Sudan, it was the Israeli strike on the arms shipments traveling through Sudan to the Palestinian territories. According to analysts at Stratfor, the path of arms involves selling the arms legally, or at least openly given the status of the embargo, which are then purchased by Hezbollah agents who move the arms across the Egyptian border using Bedouin smugglers then move them into Gaza via the tunnels that are so ubiquitous these days.(21) The attack in question were actually a series of three attacks taking place, two attacks near the end of January, and one in February. They consisted of air strikes, some say using UAV's, on truck convoys traveling through the eastern Sudanese desert. (22)
Overall, Sudan is one of Iran's chief importers of weapons. What follows is a non-comprehensive list of Iranian weapon systems used, as advertised by Sudan’s main defense companies, the Military Industry Corporation (MIC), followed by their domestic name.
Small Arms
Sayyed 5.56 Assault Rifle (Terab)
G3 Assault Rifle (Dinar)
MP-5 SMG (Tihraga)
MG-3 Machinegun (Karar)
Artillery
D-30 Towed Gun (Khalifa)
122 mm MLRS
107 mm MLRS
Shahin
Mortar
60 mm (Nimar)
82 mm (Aboud)
120 mm (Ahmd)
Anti-Tank Weapons
RPG-7 (Sinar)
SPG-9(Soba)
YM-III AT Mine
Armored Fighting Vehicles
Safir-74/T-72Z Tank (al-Zubair 1)
Boragh APC (al-Khatim 1)
Rakhsh APC (Amir)
In addition to this, Iran has provided up until recently, large amounts of ammunition and munitions for the weapons systems. It should also be noted that for some of the non-Iranian only weapons such as the D-30 and 122 mm rockets, the Iranians are not the lone supplier, sharing the position with nations such as China.
(1) "A New Alliance For Terror? The US Eyes Growing Ties Between Iran and Sudan" Newsweek February 24th 1992 http://www.newsweek.com/id/125403/page/1
(2) "Arms Oil and Darfur" Sudan Issue Brief. No. 6 April 2007. http://www.smallarmssurvey.org/files/portal/spotlight/s...f/SIB%207%20Arms.pdf
(3)“A Deadly Love Triangle: Why Iran and Hamas Adore Darfur’s Genocidal Dictator,” Weekly Standard Online. August 6, 2008. http://www.jewishpolicycenter.org/280/a-deadly-love-triangle
(4)"Skirting the Law: Sudan’s Post-CPA Arms Flows" Small Arms Survey. September 2009. P. 27-28
(5) ibd Weekly Standard Online, 2008
(6) ibd Small Arms Survey, 2009
(7) "Islamism, Jihadism and Terrorism in Sudan". Ronald Sandee. Dutch MoD. No date. http://www.aei.org/docLib/20040809_SANDEEremarks.pdf
(8) "Sudan-Government" Arabic-German Counseling March 21st 2001 http://www.arab.de/arabinfo/sudan-government.htm
(9) "Sudan Using Iraqi Planes" The Independent. January 27th 1993. http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/sudan-using-ira...-planes-1481034.html
(10) ibd Weekly Standard Online, 2008
(11) "Sudan: An Expanding Civil War With an Iran Connection". The New York Times April 9th 1997 http://www.nytimes.com/1997/04/09/opinion/09iht-edamir.t.html
(12) ibd Sudan Issues Brief, 2007
(13) ibd Small Arms Survey, 2009
(14) "Arms Sales to Sudan 2004-2006" Human Rights First. No Date. http://www.stoparmstosudan.org/pages.asp?id=36#iran
(15) ibd Small Arms Survey, 2009
(16) ibd Human Rights First
(17) "Sudan, Iran Sign Military Cooperation Agreement" Sudan Tribune. March 8th 2008 http://www.sudaneseonline.com/spip.php?article26294
(18) “Iran Gains African Foothold up to Chad Through Pacts with Sudan” Debka File May 31st 2008 http://www.debka.com/article.php?aid=1343 (19)"Iran Violating Arms Embargo on Sudan: Report" Sudan Tribune. September 5th 2008 http://www.sudaneseonline.com/spip.php?article28514
(20) "Darfur Rebels Claim Downing of Sudan Drone" Military Photos. August 28th 2008 http://www.militaryphotos.net/forums/showthread.php?t=140764
(21) "Alleged Israeli Attack Draws Attention to Sudan's Iran Ties" Payvand Iran News April 2nd 2009 http://www.payvand.com/news/09/apr/1017.html
(22) "Report: Israel Carried out 3 Attacks on Sudan Arms Smugglers" Haaretz March 28th 2009 http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1074457.html (23) Military Industry Corporation http://mic.sd/english/products.htm[/B]
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Nazar Yousif
فيس بوك
تويتر
انستقرام
يوتيوب
بنتيريست