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By André Pienaar
As war-weary Sudan approaches its third year of brutal civil conflict, President Donald J. Trump has launched an ambitious new initiative to bring peace to a nation that the Biden administration largely ignored. In a critical region that spans the Horn of Africa and the Middle East, increasingly dominated by foreign mercenaries, Islamist militias, and Iranian drones, Trump’s peace plan offers not only a diplomatic lifeline — but a moral reset.
Let’s be clear: Sudan’s war is not just a local tribal dispute. It is the latest frontline in a broader global struggle between forces of authoritarian extremism and those seeking self-determination and constitutional governance. That’s why Trump’s effort to broker a ceasefire and inclusive transition should be viewed not only as a foreign policy manoeuvre — but as a defence of US strategic values in East Africa and the Red Sea corridor.
Calling out Iran’s meddling
The Biden-era policy of “strategic silence” has allowed malign actors to fill the vacuum. Chief among them is Iran, which has forged a dangerous alliance with Sudan’s embattled military rulers — the so-called Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) — in a bid to reestablish its grip on the Red Sea coast.
Since resuming ties with Khartoum in late 2023, Tehran has shipped Mohajer and Ababil drones, weapons, and military advisors into Sudanese territory — weapons that have been used to bomb civilian neighborhoods and prolong the bloodshed. In return, Iran is reportedly seeking a naval base near Port Sudan — a threat not just to African sovereignty, but to global shipping lanes and US naval dominance.
Iran’s involvement in Sudan is not about peace. It’s about establishing a foothold from which to threaten Israel, Saudi Arabia, and US interests across the region.
President Trump understands this. That’s why his initiative puts pressure on both sides of the conflict — but especially on the SAF’s Iranian-backed war machine. Any peace deal, he has made clear, must mean the withdrawal of foreign drones, a halt to Iranian meddling, and guarantees that Sudan will not become another outpost for the Ayatollahs’ imperial ambitions.
A cautious opening toward the RSF
Of course, no peace deal can succeed without addressing the reality on the ground. That means engaging the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) — the powerful paramilitary group that now controls vast swaths of western and southern Sudan, including most of Darfur.
The RSF, led by Mohamed Hamdan “Hemedti” Dagalo, has a troubled past, including accusations of atrocities. But it has also taken meaningful steps to evolve — both militarily and politically. In July, the RSF and its allies unveiled the Government of Peace and Unity, a parallel civilian-led administration that proposes a secular, federal, and inclusive Sudan, explicitly rejecting the Islamist legacy of the SAF and Bashir-era generals.
Unlike the SAF, which has welcomed support from hardline Islamists and Iran, the RSF has called for the separation of religion and state, promised equal rights for Sudan’s minorities, and brought respected civilian figures — including former peace negotiators and opposition leaders — into its transitional council.
These moves are potentially significant, although only time will tell whether they are genuine. And they should be met not with cynicism, but with conditional US engagement — the kind of diplomatic realism that recognises the RSF’s battlefield power while encouraging its political transformation.
America is leading peace across Africa — and President Trump Is doing it
President Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio lead a peace initiative in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) that prevented a repeat of one of Africa’s biggest and most destructive wars that consumed the continent from 1996-1997 and again from 1998-2003. The President is now turning his attention to the other pivotal part of Africa, the Horn of Africa, and the civil war in Sudan.
The peace initiative should be rooted in three clear principles:
- Iran out: No future Sudanese government should serve as a client state of Tehran
- Civilians in: Both sides must commit to power-sharing with unarmed civil society and political parties
- One Sudan, federal and inclusive: The US must back a framework that enables ethnic and regional autonomy and that is inclusive of minorities with a federal constitution
Critics will say the US is giving legitimacy to warlords by engaging the RSF conditionally. But what they miss is that the alternative — a Tehran-backed junta in Khartoum, ruling through Iranian drones and Islamist militias — is far worse. Trump’s strategy isn’t about endorsing the past; it’s about shaping a future where Sudan belongs to its people, not foreign powers or military tyrants. This is realist statecraft. This is how peace begins.
André Pienaar is an investor focused on energy security, a former member of the United States Institute of Peace’s Advisory Council and the founder of the Directorate of Special Operations (DSO), also known as the Scorpions, an elite law enforcement and counter terrorist agency.