The United States government has been critical of Sudan's human rights record and has dispatched a strong UN Peacekeeping force to Darfur.

[6] Relations improved further after the U.S. provided assistance for the resettlement of refugees following the 1972 peace settlement that ended the First Sudanese Civil War with the south.

Ambassador returned to Khartoum in November, relations with Sudan remained static until early 1976, when President Nimeiri mediated the release of 10 American hostages being held by Eritrean insurgents in rebel strongholds in northern Ethiopia.

[6] The United States went from an unusually important and close relationship with Sudan in the early 1980s to one that began to deteriorate near the end of the Nimeiry government.

[6] Relations between the countries declined quickly following the 1989 military coup and the rise of Islamist leaders in Sudan's government.

[7] The low point in relations occurred in August 1998, just days after the bombing of the American embassies in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, and Nairobi, Kenya, when a U.S. naval vessel launched cruise missiles against the Al-Shifa pharmaceutical factory in Khartoum on the questionable grounds that it was linked to the production of chemical weapons.

[7] The George W. Bush administration generally continued a tough policy toward Sudan, but the events of September 11, 2001, had a dramatic impact on the relationship.

[7] Danforth focused on ending the Sudanese civil war, but the U.S. Congress and the evangelical community remained highly critical of Sudan.

[7] The United States, working with IGAD, Britain, and Norway, played a key role in bringing the civil war in Sudan to an end.

[7] In 2006, under pressure from Congress and domestic interest groups, the Bush administration named another special envoy for Sudan, Andrew Natsios, who resigned at the end of 2007 and was replaced by former diplomat Richard S.

[7] Failing to convince the UN to institute broader sanctions, President Bush signed a bill at the end of 2007 that allowed state and local governments to cut investment ties with companies doing business with Sudan.

[7] At the same time, the United States committed US$2.7 billion in fiscal years 2005–6 for humanitarian assistance, peacekeeping in Darfur, implementation of the CPA, and reconstruction and development in South Sudan.

[7] Gration's policy had support in the White House but detractors elsewhere in the U.S. government and some harsh critics on Capitol Hill and in the “Save Darfur Coalition” community.

[9] 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.

In September 2019, Sudan's new prime minister, Abdalla Hamdok, said that he held useful talks with U.S. officials while at the United Nations, and expressed hope Khartoum could “very soon" be removed from the U.S. state sponsor of terrorism list.

[23] 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.

[24] 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.

[25] On October 25, 2021, the Sudanese military, led by General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan overthrew the government and detained Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok.

[27] 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.

[6] The U.S. provided assistance for resettlement of refugees following the 1972 peace settlement that brought the First Sudanese Civil War with the south to an end.

[29] In 1998, the Al-Shifa pharmaceutical factory in Khartoum was destroyed by a missile attack launched by the United States government, killing one employee and wounding eleven.

[30][31] The U.S. government claimed that the factory was used for the processing of VX nerve agent and that the owners of the plant had ties to the terrorist group al-Qaeda.

[6] President Barack Obama sent Special Envoy Scott Gration to Sudan to improve diplomatic conditions, and discuss ways to avert the Darfur conflict.