South Sudan's main opposition party shows rift after longtime leader's detention

JUBA, South Sudan (AP) — Divisions emerged Wednesday in South Sudan's main opposition party after the detention of its longtime leader, as some voted to replace him with a government minister accused of conspiring with the country's president.

Riek Machar, whose political tensions with President Salva Kiir recently threatened to tip South Sudan back into civil war, remained in house arrest as Sudan People's Liberation Movement-In-Opposition party leaders loyal to him skipped the meeting. Other loyalists have fled the country.

The selection of Stephen Kuol Par, South Sudan’s minister of peacebuilding, as the party’s interim chair came two days after the exiled party deputy suspended him and accused him of conspiring with South Sudan’s president to replace Machar.

Oyet Nathaniel also suspended three other members, accusing them of fostering disunity. Party members had been warned not to attend Wednesday's meeting.

Par dismissed the suspension, calling it “the joke of the year” and saying the party “cannot be led or take orders from self-exiled leaders.”

When asked if his appointment was a coup against Machar, Par said it wasn't. He said choosing an interim chair was a way to resolve the party's leadership crisis.

He also appealed for the release of Machar and other senior SPLM-IO members who were detained two weeks ago following deadly violence in the country’s north.

“This act of detention undermines the principles of peace and dialogue essential for our nation’s recovery,” Par said.

SPLM-IO spokesperson Lam Paul Gabriel in a social media post called Par and others who attended the meeting “betrayers.”

Oil-rich South Sudan gained independence from Sudan in 2011 after a long conflict. The country slid into civil war two years later when forces loyal to the president, an ethnic Dinka, battled those loyal to Machar, an ethnic Nuer. More than 400,000 people were killed.

A 2018 peace deal has been fragile and implementation has been slow. The country has never held a presidential election, and the vote has been postponed until 2026. Peace efforts have seen Machar assume a vice presidency role multiple times.

The recent fighting in the north was between government troops and a rebel militia, known as the White Army, widely believed to be allied with Machar. The White Army overran an army base. Government troops responded with airstrikes. Government forces also attacked opposition forces’ training barracks outside the capital, Juba.

The U.N. and others have warned of a return to civil war.

Some analysts said the change in SPLM-IO leadership may not scuttle the 2018 peace deal. But Abraham Kuol Nyuon, dean of the graduate college at the University of Juba, warned that internal divisions could widen.

“The peace agreement will not collapse, but it will be shaking in the way that there will be suspension for those who are loyal to Machar, and the supporters of Machar will then fight the system,” Kuol told The Associated Press.

This version corrects the name of the opposition party to Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-In-Opposition.

South Sudan's President Salva Kiir Mayardit announces the death of army general David Majur Dak, in Juba, South Sudan, Friday, March 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Florence Miettaux)

FILE - South Sudan's president Salva Kiir, left, and vice-president Riek Machar, right, shake hands after meetings to discuss outstanding issues to the peace deal on Oct. 20, 2019. (AP Photo/Sam Mednick, File)

South Sudan's minister of Peace building, Stephen Par Kuol, centre, addresses the media after being declared interim chairman of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement-In Opposition (SPLM-IO), in Juba, South Sudan Wednesday, April 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Florence Miettaux)

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — President Donald Trump on Thursday threatened sanctions on anyone who buys Iranian oil, a warning that came after planned talks over Tehran’s rapidly advancing nuclear program were postponed.

Trump wrote on social media that “All purchases of Iranian Oil, or Petrochemical products, must stop, NOW!” He said any country or person who buys those products from Iran will not be able to do business with the United States.

The threat came after Oman announced planned nuclear negotiations for this coming weekend had been postponed. A message online from Omani Foreign Minister Badr al-Busaidi made the announcement in a post on the social platform X.

“For logistical reasons we are rescheduling the US Iran meeting provisionally planned for Saturday May 3rd,” he wrote. “New dates will be announced when mutually agreed.”

Al-Busaidi, who has mediated the talks through three rounds so far, did not elaborate.

Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei issued a statement describing the talks as being “postponed at the request of Oman’s foreign minister.” He said Iran remain committed to reaching ”a fair and lasting agreement."

Meanwhile, a person familiar with the U.S. negotiators said that America “had never confirmed its participation” in a fourth round of talks in Rome. However, the person said the U.S. expected the talks to occur “in the near future.” The person spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the closed-door negotiations.

Rome soon will see the Vatican begin the conclave on Wednesday to pick a new pope after the death of Pope Francis. Two other rounds of talks have been held in Muscat, the capital of Oman.

The talks seek to limit Iran’s nuclear program in exchange for the lifting of some of the crushing economic sanctions the U.S. has imposed on the Islamic Republic closing in on a half-century of enmity. The negotiations have been led by Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and U.S. Mideast envoy Steve Witkoff.

Trump has repeatedly threatened to unleash airstrikes targeting Iran’s program if a deal isn’t reached. Iranian officials increasingly warn that they could pursue a nuclear weapon with their stockpile of uranium enriched to near weapons-grade levels.

Iran’s 2015 nuclear deal with world powers did limit Tehran’s program. However, Trump unilaterally withdrew from it in 2018, setting in motion years of attacks and tensions. The wider Middle East also remains on edge over the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip.

Meanwhile, the U.S. continues an airstrike campaign, called “Operation Rough Rider,” that has been targeting Yemen's Houthi rebels, who long have been backed by Iran. U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth early Thursday warned Iran over the rebels.

“Message to IRAN: We see your LETHAL support to The Houthis. We know exactly what you are doing,” he wrote. “You know very well what the U.S. Military is capable of — and you were warned. You will pay the CONSEQUENCE at the time and place of our choosing.”

Last Saturday's round of talks, which included experts drilling down into the details of a possible deal, also took place as an explosion rocked an Iranian port, killing at least 70 people and injuring more than 1,000 others.

Associated Press writers Amir Vahdat in Tehran, Iran, and Matthew Lee in Washington contributed to this report.

President Donald Trump arrives to speak during a National Day of Prayer event in the Rose Garden of the White House, Thursday, May 1, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)