Iran’s aid to the Algeria-Tunisia-Mali axis against Morocco threatens the Maghreb

The new military alliance between Morocco and Israel provides the perfect alibi for the Iranian regime to strengthen ties with Algeria, Tunisia and Mali in the struggle for Sahara and regional supremacy. Iran is taking advantage of the continent’s anti-Western climate to increase its presence in Africa in general and the Maghreb region in particular. Russia, China and Turkey have done the same in recent years, according to the analysis News Diario.

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Morocco’s Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita accused Iran on Monday of arming and training “separatist elements” of the Polisario Front. It threatens Morocco’s “territorial integrity” and “security and stability” in the region. He warned against the use of weapons by these “unofficial” factions, citing links between Hezbollah and the Polisario Front. Tension between the two countries is not new. Morocco severed diplomatic ties with Iran in 2018, condemning “Iran’s involvement through Hezbollah in alliance with the Polisario Front against national security and the Kingdom’s interests”.

After the United States recognized Moroccan sovereignty over the Sahara and the resumption of diplomatic relations between Morocco and Israel in December 2020, tensions in the region increased. Algeria, a key Polisario partner, condemned the US approach and the resumption of ties between Rabat and Tel Aviv. Since then, two axes have emerged: on the one hand Morocco, the United States and Israel, and to some extent Spain and Germany, which recently supported Morocco’s autonomy project in the Sahara. Algeria, Russia and Iran on the other side, and Tunisia and Mali to a lesser extent.

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“Iran is known to have presence in Algeria and Tunisia, and to a lesser extent in Mauritania. Algeria would do well not to allow Tehran to establish bases on its territory,” geostrategist Kamal F. Chutney said in late August. In recent months, Algeria and Iran have strengthened their bilateral ties. Both countries have now forged new cooperative ties with Tunisia and Mali.