Iran reviews its weapons in Qatar.. The Sudan is shopping

With Iranian-backed militia attacks in the region over recent months, most notably by Houthi rebels in Yemen on commercial vessels in the Red Sea, Iran reviewed its latest drones at an international arms show in Qatar this month.

Iran said its newest drone, dubbed “Gaza”, was capable of carrying 13 bombs and operated with a turboprop engine that could run up to 1,000 miles at an altitude of 35 thousand feet.

Since the end of U.N. restrictions on Iran’s missile and marching exports last October, Tehran has sold its military products at international exhibitions, a Wall Street Journal report said.

It also noted that Iranian weapons “played a role in the October 7 attack on Israel along with indirect confrontations between Tehran and Washington, including the killing of 3 American soldiers in a drone attack in January in Jordan, carried out by an Iranian-backed Iraqi militia.”

Iran’s new defence deals include the sale of short-range ballistic missiles to Russia alongside unmanned aerial vehicles to the Sudanese government, according to the newspaper.

A Sudanese official, Mohamed Fatah Rahman, stated that he had come to Doha “carrying a detailed list of weapons needed by the Government in its fight against the RSF”.

He noted that after meeting with Iranian military officials during the exhibition he “discussed buying 1,000 sniper rifles and night vision equipment,” and found that the deal with Iranians was “profitable” but also said that “the quality is average but at half price” compared to competitors.

The war broke out in Sudan on 15 April 2023 between the army and the Rapid Support Forces.

The United Nations said about 25 million people, or half of the Sudan’s population, needed assistance, and about 8 million people had fled their homes.

According to the United States, the warring parties committed war crimes.
In January, Bloomberg reported that Iran was “supplying the Sudanese military with drones.”

The Agency quoted 3 Western officials, who requested anonymity, that the Sudan “received shipments from a single-engine drone (6 migrant) manufactured in Iran by Al-Quds Air Industries Company and carrying precision-guided ammunition”.

A source familiar with the Wall Street Journal noted that Qatari defence officials were visiting the Iranian wing as they did with all other exhibitors.

The Iranian presence at Qatar’s Defense Industries Show puts Doha, an American ally that hosts the largest U.S. facility in the region, “in an awkward situation.”

A State Department spokesman said Washington had contacted Qataris about Iran’s presence at the exhibition, explaining: “We continue to have serious concerns about Iran’s efforts to expand the spread of dangerous weapons that exacerbate and prolong conflicts around the world.”