The United States established diplomatic relations with Sudan in 1956, following its independence from joint administration by Egypt and the United Kingdom. After the outbreak of the
Six-Day War in June 1967, Sudan declared war on Israel and broke diplomatic relations with the U.S. Relations improved after July 1971, when the
Sudanese Communist Party attempted to overthrow President
Nimeiry, and Nimeiry suspected Soviet involvement. In late 1985, there was a reduction in staff at the U.S. Embassy in Khartoum because of the presence of a large contingent of
Libyan terrorists. The Sudanese and the United States completed all of the tracks successfully only weeks before the end of Obama's presidency. On 13 January 2017, the U.S. lifted economic and trade sanctions on Sudan after the Sudanese Government met all the objectives. The White House announced the easing of sanctions as part of a five-track engagement process. On 16 March 2017, the U.S. and Sudan announced the resumption of military relations after exchanging military attachés. In April 2017, it was announced that the U.S.
Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), which was “especially keen to see sanctions lifted“, had decided to open a large office in Khartoum. Sudan was also removed from the list of Muslim-majority countries on the
American travel ban. In December 2019, U.S. Secretary of State
Mike Pompeo stated that the U.S. and Sudan are to begin exchanging ambassadors after 23 years of no diplomatic relations. That same month, Hamdok became the first Sudanese leader to visit Washington D.C. since 1985. The last U.S. Ambassador was
Tim Carney, who left the post on 30 November 1997. Also in December, it was reported that the Sudanese transitional government will close the offices of Hamas, Hezbollah, and any other Islamic group designated as terrorist by the U.S. meets with Sudanese Sovereign Council Chair General
Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, in
Khartoum, on 25 August 2020. As of June 2019, the office of U.S.
Ambassador to Sudan was vacant. The
Chargé d’Affaires was
Steven Koutsis and the Deputy Chief of Mission was Ellen B. Thorburn. On 5 May 2020, Sudan appointed Noureldin Sati, a veteran diplomat, as ambassador. In August 2020,
Mike Pompeo became the first US secretary of state to visit Sudan since
Condoleezza Rice in 2005. The visit came on the heels of the
Israel–United Arab Emirates peace agreement. His visit was meant to discuss the possibility of opening relations between Sudan and Israel and exhibit assistance and support for Sudan's shift to democracy. On 19 October 2020, President
Donald Trump announced that he would lift the designation of Sudan as a state sponsor of terrorism once $335 million in compensation from Sudan to American families victims of terrorism was deposited into an escrow account. On 23 October 2020, President Donald Trump officially notified the
Congress of his intention to remove Sudan from the State Department's blacklist of state sponsors of terrorism. On 14 December 2020, the United States officially removed Sudan from the list after it
agreed to establish relations with Israel. On 6 January 2021, U.S. Treasury Secretary
Steven Mnuchin signed a
memorandum of understanding with Sudanese Acting Finance Minister Heba Mohamed Ali, in order to clear Sudan's arrears with the
World Bank, and to allow their access to more than US$1 billion in annual lending. On 1 March 2021, Sudanese officials welcomed the missile guided destroyer
USS Winston S. Churchill at
Port Sudan, the first time in decades that the U.S. naval forces had visited the country. The commander of Sudan’s naval forces, Alnairi Hassan, described the visit as a momentous occasion and said Sudan was happy to receive the U.S. warship. Hamdok was reinstated as Prime Minister on 21 November; the move was welcomed by the United States. In April 2023, after a lot of fighting between the regular military and the RSF, the United States and other countries have evacuated their diplomats and citizens.
Donald Trump's 2nd presidency In March 2025, reports emerged that the United States and
Israel had discussed with Sudan,
Somalia, and
Somaliland the possibility of forcibly relocating
Palestinians from
Gaza to these
East African regions. This initiative, which was initiated following
US President Donald Trump’s proposal to displace Palestinians, was rejected by Sudanese officials, while Somalia and Somaliland denied any involvement. The proposal included incentives like financial, diplomatic, and security support in exchange for resettlement. This plan sparked international backlash, with critics condemning it as
ethnic cleansing. In November 2025, Secretary of State
Marco Rubio called for international action to stop the flow of weapons to the
Rapid Support Forces (RSF), the paramilitary group responsible for
mass killings and atrocities in
El Fasher and across Sudan's
Darfur region. He emphasized that the U.S. knows which countries are involved in supplying the RSF and using their territories for transit, and that pressure is being applied at the highest levels to stop this aid. The
United Arab Emirates (UAE) is widely accused by various sources, including the Sudanese army and U.N. investigators, of being the RSF's main foreign backer. ==U.S. aid ==