Trump prepared to strike Iran if necessary, US former VP Pence says

A European intelligence source said the Boeing 747 with registration EP-FAB operated by Fars Air Qeshm, an airline owned by the powerful military organization, departed Tehran and landed in Port Sudan under flight number W5998 on March 17.

A second source with knowledge of the activities of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) confirmed the shipment contained military equipment, including various types of drones.

The source added that the cargo was delivered to the Sudanese army.

A transnational paramilitary force, the IRGC spearheads Tehran's influence in the Middle East, including training and arming affiliates including Hamas, Hezbollah, the Houthis and Iraqi militias.

Iran previously used this same aircraft—bearing the same registration number—to fly a similar shipment from Bandar Abbas to Sudan in June/July 2024.

In recent months, multiple open-source investigations have pointed to an increased Iranian military role in Sudan. Satellite imagery published by BBC World Service showed Iranian drones stationed at a military site near Khartoum.

The BBC reported that Tehran had sent Ababil-3 and Mohajer-6 drones, models known for reconnaissance and strike capabilities. Iran has also supplied these drones to armed groups in Iraq, Venezuela, and Russia.

Images have emerged on social media that appear to show Iran-made anian-oduced eh-2 anti-armor missile Saeqeh-2 army positions.

The Sudanese military has been engaged in a two-year-long war against the Rapid Support Forces, a paramilitary group.

Iran’s ties with Sudan have fluctuated in recent years. In 2016 following the storming of Saudi diplomatic sites in Iran by protesters, Sudan severed diplomatic relations with Tehran along with other Saudi allies including the United Arab Emirates.

However, the two countries resumed ties in late 2023, amid the war between Israel and Hamas. In December, Sudan’s foreign minister visited Tehran, and the two governments announced the re-establishment of formal relations.

In February, Sudanese Foreign Minister Ali Youssef returned to Iran for further talks.

Last year, the Wall Street Journal reported that Iran had proposed an agreement to Sudan offering a warship in exchange for a permanent base. According to the report, the Sudanese government rejected the offer.

Even so, arms deliveries from Tehran appear to have continued. Bloomberg reported in December that Iran is backing the Sudanese army forces with weapons and drones as Tehran and its ally, Moscow, seek military bases in the Red Sea.

The report said Iran has delivered arms to Sudanese army forces and provided them with dozens of drones, helping tip the conflict against militia opponents but also giving Tehran a foothold in the region.

Turkey’s foreign minister on Friday called for peaceful negotiations between the US and Iran, warning of the risks of escalation in the region.

"Our region cannot tolerate another war, another big source of instability. And we don't know what type of escalation might occur in case of such an attack. So we don't want to see any (US) attack on Iran taking place,” Hakan Fidan was quoted as saying by Reuters in an interview on Friday.

“We need to see, as was the case in the past, peaceful negotiations employed by both sides and interested parties," he added.

A Bloomberg analysis argued that while Iran's vulnerability and proximity to nuclear weapons capability raise the specter of military action, diplomacy remains the only viable path forward despite deep distrust between Tehran and Washington.

The analysis highlights the limitations and unpredictable consequences of air strikes, noting that they would likely only delay, not end, Iran's nuclear program and could even push Tehran to pursue weapons more aggressively.

Despite a US military buildup in the region and the expressed willingness of one administration to consider force, the report emphasizes that a lasting solution requires a negotiated settlement addressing the weaknesses of the previous nuclear deal.

The Bloomberg opinion piece points to Iran's struggling economy and internal pressures as a potential opening for renewed diplomacy, but stressed the need for a comprehensive approach involving allies and regional partners.

The rights group also called on the international community to urgently intervene to halt the "gruesome plan."

Hadi Rostami, Mehdi Sharfian, and Mehdi Shahivand, held in Urmia Central Prison in northwestern Iran, were informed by prosecutors on March 13 that their amputation sentences would be carried out imminently.

Amnesty International highlighted that authorities in the same prison amputated the fingers of two brothers in October 2024 using a guillotine device.

"Amputation constitutes torture, which is a crime under international law and is a flagrant and abhorrent assault on human dignity," said Sara Hashash, Deputy Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa at Amnesty International. She called on Iran to immediately halt the sentences and abolish all forms of corporal punishment.

Amnesty International said that the planned amputations are based on confessions obtained under torture and followed grossly unfair trials.

The organization urged that all Iranian officials responsible for ordering or carrying out these acts be criminally investigated and prosecuted, including through universal jurisdiction.

The three men, convicted of robbery in 2019, have consistently maintained their innocence and said that their confessions were forced under torture, including beatings, flogging, and suspension by their limbs.

Despite violating Article 7 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), to which Iran is a state party, Iranian law prescribes that for certain types of theft, those convicted must “have four fingers of their right hand completely cut off, leaving only the palm and thumb.”

Hadi Rostami reported a broken hand, and Mehdi Shahivand alleged threats of rape. Their requests for investigations into these torture allegations were reportedly ignored by Iranian authorities, including the Supreme Court, according to Amnesty.

According to the Abdorrahman Boroumand Center, a human rights organization, Iranian authorities have issued at least 384 amputation sentences and carried out at least 223 since 1979, with the actual numbers likely higher.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Friday that he is unaware of any nation that would be pleased to see Iran develop the capability to build nuclear weapons.

“I don't know of any country in the world that's excited about Iran ever having a nuclear weapons capability. Some are more forceful about it than others,” he said.

Rubio added that “the president... has made it clear that there's not going to be a nuclear- armed Iran. That is not going to happen under his watch.”

Rubio made the remarks following a meeting with foreign ministers from NATO member countries in Brussels, where he said discussions about Iran's nuclear program took place.