Iran accused of supplying Mohajer-6 attack drones to Sudan’s armed forces

Iran is once again accused of playing a lethal role in another conflict; this time, he is accused of supplying attack drones – drones that indiscriminately kill women and children – to one of the parties to Muslim-majority Sudan’s deadly civil war.

The war, now in its fourth year, has by some accounts seen as many as 400,000 deaths since the conflict began on April 15, 2023. More than 11 million people were displaced, leading to the worst displacement crisis in the world.

“Iran has been supplying the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) with Mohajer-6 unmanned aerial vehicles manufactured by US-sanctioned Qods Aviation Industries since 2013,” Mariam Wahba, research analyst at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD), told Fox News Digital.

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The State Department has opposed the use of drones against civilians in the ongoing war in Sudan, and the SAF has alleged widespread use of Iranian drones against the population. An Iranian woman is also in federal custody in California after being arrested earlier this month for allegedly plotting to supply more Iranian drones to Sudan.

Documented cases show that both the SAF and the rebel militias they fight, the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), are increasingly using drones against civilians.

Wahba said: “At least seven cargo flights occurred between Iran and Sudan between December 2023 and July 2024, possibly carrying unmanned aerial vehicles and component parts. On April 19, an Iranian-born U.S. resident was arrested at LAX (Los Angeles International Airport) for allegedly brokering a $70 million deal to supply Mohajer-6 systems and other hardware to the Sudanese Department of Defense, indicating that the transfers were likely ongoing.”

A State Department spokesperson told Fox News Digital: “We are greatly concerned by the spread of drone warfare by the parties (in Sudan) and its impact on civilians and civilian infrastructure. We have recently seen RSF and SAF drones destroying hospitals and schools, killing civilians.”

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Patients with malnourished children are in the nutrition ward of the Port Sudan Children’s Teaching Hospital Pediatric Center in Port Sudan, Sudan, on Monday, October 328, 2024. Tahran ve Moskova, Kızıldeniz’deki askeri üsler için jokey yaparken, Port Sudan’dan akan milyonlarca dolar değerindeki silah, yakıt ve insansız hava araçları, ülkenin ordusuna dünyanın en ölümcül savaşında üstünlük sağladı. (Eduardo Soteras/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

News of Iran’s drone plan in the United States was first announced by First Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California, Bill Essayli, in an April 19 post: “Shamim Mafi, 44, of Woodland Hills, was arrested at Los Angeles International Airport for smuggling weapons on behalf of the Iranian government. He is charged with violating 50 USC § 1705 by brokering the sale of drones, bombs, bomb fuses, and millions in weapons.” Ammunition shells produced by Iran and sold to Sudan.”

The post was accompanied by photos of Iranian drones and an image of what appeared to be a suitcase filled with dollar bills.

Ciaran McEvoy of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California told Fox News Digital that Mafi “remains in federal custody and his arraignment is scheduled for Friday, May 8, in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles.”

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Speaking to Fox News Digital, Wahba stated that the Mohajer-6 unmanned aerial vehicle supplied by Iran to Sudan is “Iran’s heavy vehicle unmanned aerial vehicle” and added that it is the system used by Hezbollah and the Houthis in attacks against Israel and the Red Sea.

“Mohajer-6 is a reusable platform used for surveillance and precision attacks,” Wahba added. “He can wander around, gather intelligence, and return.”

An Iranian navy special forces officer known as Takavaran stands guard near the Iranian Kharg supply ship docked in the Sudanese town of Port Sudan in the Red Sea on October 31, 2012. The visit of two Iranian navy ships to Sudan reflects the strong ties between the countries. (Ashraf Shazly/AFP via Getty Images)

The State Department told Fox News Digital of broader concerns: “Islamist groups aligned with the SAF have established relationships with the Iranian regime and received assistance from Iran. We have sanctioned a number of these groups, including the Sudanese Muslim Brotherhood, which has engaged in unrestrained violence against civilians and undermined efforts to resolve the conflict in Sudan. Many of the group’s fighters have received training and other support from Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and have committed atrocities against civilians.”

United Nations spokesman Stéphane Dujarric condemned the latest drone attacks in Sudan. He told reporters: “An aid truck belonging to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), carrying emergency shelter kits, was attacked by a drone while passing through the town of Umm Drisaya in North Darfur state on Friday, April 24. All materials were destroyed in the fire.”

Dujarric added: “The second incident occurred on Saturday, April 25, when a drone was reported to have caused casualties in residential areas of the city of El Obeid, North Kordofan province. According to a local medical group, seven people were killed and more than 20 were injured.”

Patients are seen in one of the rooms of the Saudi hospital in Omdurman, Khartoum’s twin city, on March 20, 2025; because most hospitals and schools are no longer operating in Sudan’s capital and surrounding areas due to the ongoing war that broke out in April 2023. (Ibrahim Hamid / AFP via Getty Images)

“These are ordinary families living in their homes, caught up in the violence that continues to reach civilian neighborhoods,” Dujarric said. “We condemn all of these attacks.”

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A State Department spokesperson added: “To protect U.S. interests, including protecting religious freedom in Sudan, U.S. efforts are aimed at limiting malignant Islamist influence in the Sudanese government and restricting Iran’s regional activities that contribute to regional instability, conflict, and civilian suffering.”