How easing Gulf tensions could revive Sudan’s peace efforts
An injured man from Al-Fashir sits on the ground surrounded by his children, while displaced women wait in line to receive aid at a displacement camp in Al-Dabba, Sudan, November 19, 2025.
The easing of tensions between the US and Iran has raised cautious hopes that Sudan’s war could return to the international agenda, after months in which successive crises in the Middle East and beyond pushed the conflict into the background.
For years, policymakers and diplomats have been preoccupied with crises stretching from Ukraine to Gaza, the Red Sea and the Gulf. As some of these conflicts show signs of de-escalation, new political space may be opening for long-neglected crises, including Sudan’s devastating war.
