President Trump Announces U.S. Plans to Remove Sudan from the List of Terror States

President Trump meets with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in January. Sudan is expected to normalize with Israel as part of the deal to be taken off the list of state sponsors of terrorism.

President Donald Trump announced on October 19 that he intends to remove Sudan from the United States’ list of state sponsors of terrorism, contingent on certain conditions. Trump says the decision depends upon receiving $335 million from Sudan in compensation to victims of the terrorist attacks on the U.S. Embassies in Kenya and Tanzania in 1998 and in Yemen in 2000.

On Twitter, Trump wrote, “New government of Sudan, which is making great progress, agreed to pay $335 MILLION to US terror victims and families. Once deposited, I will lift Sudan from the State Sponsors of Terrorism list. At long last, JUSTICE for the American people and BIG step for Sudan!”

Although Sudan was never directly implicated in the attacks, the country has been sued in U.S. courts for supporting terrorist groups. Sudan, despite agreeing to the compensation package, maintains its innocence, saying that it “is not responsible for” the bombing of the U.S.S. Cole in Yemen “or any other acts of terrorism.” The Sudanese government maintains that it is compensating victims “only in order to meet the prerequisites set by the American Administration for removing the name of Sudan from the list of states sponsors of international terrorism, so that relations with the United States of America and the rest of the world could be normalized.” 

Sudan has been on the list for the last 27 years, meaning that it has been largely unable to access international financial markets and capital. It has also been ineligible for U.S. foreign aid during that time. 

Beyond the financial compensation, it is also expected that Sudan will move to normalize relations with Israel, another concession to the Trump administration. This move is expected to be quite unpopular among the Sudanese people, especially with older generations. As a result, the Sudanese government has made clear that a normalization of ties with Israel must not be explicitly tied to their removal from the list of terror states. 

The United States Congress must consent to the removal before any action can be taken.