Iran sends plane to Saudi Arabia for Sudan evacuations

Iran has sent a plane to Saudi Arabia to transfer its citizens from the kingdom after they were evacuated - with the help of Riyadh - from conflict-hit Sudan, where rival military factions continue to fight.

Sixty-five Iranian nationals were brought from Port Sudan to the western Saudi city of Jeddah on Saturday aboard a Saudi ship.

Saudi news channel Al-Arabiya released footage showing the Iranians arriving at Jeddah.

An Iranian official representing Iran's embassy in Sudan thanks Saudi authorities for their assistance in evacuating Iranian citizens from Sudan.

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— Sina Toossi (@SinaToossi) April 30, 2023

Iran thanked Saudi Arabia for its help and cooperation in transporting the Iranian nationals from Sudan, which follows a warming of ties between the two regional rivals.

A representative of Tehran’s embassy in Khartoum met with Saudi Arabia’s Commander of the Western Region, Major General Ahmed Al-Dabis ,to thank him for his country’s support.

Another video showed Al-Dabis on a plane welcoming the Iranians.

قائد المنطقة الغربية اللواء طيار ركن "أحمد الدبيس" يودع الرعايا الإيرانيين ويدعوهم لزيارة #السعودية : ايران والسعودية اخوة ❤️

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— Fouad Khreiss (@fouadkhreiss) April 30, 2023

"This is your country, if you need anything in the future you are most welcome. Iran and Saudi [Arabia] are brothers," he says.

Saudi Arabia has helped evacuate the citizens of other countries from Sudan, where more than 500 civilians have been killed and thousands more injured amid ferocious fighting between the forces of rival generals Abdul Fattah al-Burhan and Mohamed Hamdan Daglo.

The weekend evacuation underscored the growing rapprochement between Saudi Arabia and Iran following the landmark China-brokered reconciliation deal reached in March. 

The two countries have agreed to resume diplomatic ties following years of hostility.

Riyadh and Tehran have long been involved in several proxy battles across the Middle East, backing rival factions in countries such as Yemen and Syria.