Sudanese Politician Mubarak Al-Fadil Al-Mahdi: Israel Has Many Shared Interests With Sudan, Arab Countries In Face Of Iran's Expansionism, Nuclear Threat

Sudanese economist and politician Mubarak Al-Fadil Al-Mahdi, chairman of the Umma Party detailed Israel’s shared interests with the Arab countries in an interview on Asharq TV (Saudi Arabia) on January 24, 2021. He said that Sudan was targeted by Israel because of Omar Bashir’s regime’s ties with Iran and Syria and because of its involvement in smuggling weapons into Gaza and the Sinai Peninsula. He said that Sudan served as the pipeline delivering weapons to Hamas and other armed groups. Al-Mahdi said that this is why Sudan became very important to the security of Israel. He said that he believes that Israel is now a friend of the Arab world and the Arab world now shares the same interests. Al-Mahdi added that Iran has expanded into Arab countries in the region, Syria, Lebanon, Yemen, and Iraq, saying: "It has been trying to fragmentize the social fabric in those countries." Al-Mahdi continued to say that the first element of the shared interests between Israel and the Arab countries is Israel's belief that if Iran does carry out such an expansion and does obtain a nuclear bomb, Israel will also be threatened. He added that there are also shared economic interests between Israel and the Arab countries. Al-Mahdi said that while in the past ideologies ran the world, today the world is run by shared economic interests.

Mubarak Al-Fadil Al-Mahdi: "The Al-Bashir regime was involved, in cooperation with Iran, Syria, and others, in smuggling weapons into Gaza and to the Sinai Peninsula. The Al-Bashir regime was active in this. Sudan was the target of Israeli aerial bombardments because of these things. Al-Mabhouh who was assassinated in Dubai was active here in smuggling weapons into Gaza and to Sinai, and are supporting the extremist armed movements in that area."

Interviewer: "Was the Al-Bashir regime an accomplice to the smuggling of these weapons to Hamas and to others?"

Al-Mahdi: "Yes, yes. The Al-Bashir regime cooperated in this matter. It served as a pipeline delivering these weapons to those groups. This is why Sudan became very important to Israeli security."

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Interviewer: "You said in a TV interview that Israel was no longer our number-one enemy, and that Iran is the number-one enemy in the Arab region. Do you believe that Israel has become a friend? Yes or no, before we take a break?"

Al-Mahdi: "Yes. Yes, we share the same interests now.

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"Iran has [territorial] designs in the Arab region. It has expanded from Syria to Lebanon, Yemen, and Iraq. It has been trying to tear apart the social fabric in those countries, in order to be able to control them. Therefore, Iran's designs are huge and they jeopardize the stability of the region.

"This threat has collided with the Israeli interests. Israel believes that if Iran [carries out] such an expansion and obtains a nuclear bomb, this will pose a threat to Israel too. This is the first element in the shared interests between Arab countries and Israel. In addition, there are also great economic interests. The world today is run by the economy, not by politics. In the past, the world was run by ideologies. Today, however, it is economic interests that run the world."