A Test of Sovereignty: Iran’s Support for the Polisario Reveals the True Nature of Tehran’s Maghreb Policy
Amid the ongoing geopolitical shifts in the Arab region, the need for a clear and truthful national discourse — both Moroccan and Arab — is becoming increasingly urgent. This discourse must stand against disinformation campaigns that portray Iran as a “resistance force” against Israel and the West. The harsh truth is that those who raise “Iran’s banner” today fail the test of patriotism and sovereignty, and — knowingly or not — become tools of infiltration for Tehran’s sectarian and expansionist project in our region.
Iran is not an ally but a structural threat
It is no exaggeration to say that Iran has repeatedly attempted to undermine Morocco’s sovereign fabric — as well as that of the entire Maghreb and broader Arab world. Morocco’s announcement in May 2018 to sever diplomatic relations with Iran was not a mere political gesture, but a sovereign defensive act, following the exposure of Iran’s direct support for the Polisario Front via Hezbollah militias, operating through networks connected to the Iranian embassy in Algiers.
While Tehran promotes an image of resistance and defiance, the facts suggest otherwise: Iran has armed, trained, and funded a separatist group whose sole aim is to dismantle Morocco’s territorial unity. By doing so, Iran has ceased to be merely an opponent of foreign powers — it has become a dagger in the side of North Africa.
Soft infiltration to fragment societies
Iran’s strategy goes beyond military or political backing. It also seeks to establish alternative sectarian loyalties by supporting so-called “cultural” associations, offering religious education scholarships, and providing social aid tied to adherence to Iran’s doctrine of Wilayat al-Faqih.
For Tehran, the Maghreb represents a delayed battleground — one it approaches through covert networks, indirect financing, and subtle ideological influence. The goal is to create sectarian strongholds loyal to its vision, thereby threatening the cohesion and stability of North African societies.
Documented support for the Polisario
On May 1, 2018, Morocco’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Nasser Bourita, announced the severance of diplomatic ties with Iran, the recall of Morocco’s ambassador from Tehran, and the closure of the Iranian embassy in Rabat. The reason: clear and irrefutable evidence of Iranian involvement — through Hezbollah — in providing military support to the Polisario separatist movement.
This Moroccan decision was not isolated. It was widely understood and supported by several Arab and African nations, who recognized that Iran’s regional ambitions had expanded beyond the Middle East and now aimed at spreading division and instability across North Africa as well.
Summary:
What Rabat announced in 2018, and what was confirmed by its Foreign Minister, is not a political accusation but legal evidence of Iran’s involvement in supporting an armed separatist entity against the unity of an Arab state. This strips Tehran of its last excuse in claiming to be a “resistance power”.
Supporting the breakup of Arab lands is not resistance
No sovereign or ethical logic can qualify a state that supports a terrorist separatist militia like the Polisario as a “friend” or even “neutral”. Iran’s support for the Polisario is not only interference in Morocco’s internal affairs — it is an act of direct hostility against the Kingdom’s territorial integrity.
There is no room for ambiguity: anyone who supports the partition of Arab lands — whether in the name of resistance or under any slogan — is complicit in tearing apart Arab geography and sovereignty.
From Beirut to Sanaa, Iran’s project is not resistance
Look at the map of devastation:
- In Syria, Iran supported a regime drenched in the blood of its people and deployed sectarian militias that destroyed the national fabric.
- In Iraq, it backed militias that sowed sectarian strife and fragmented sovereignty in favor of Tehran-loyal power centers.
- In Lebanon, it hijacked the state through Hezbollah, turning the country into an Iranian hostage.
- In Yemen, it supported the Houthis who overthrew their government, igniting a catastrophic war.
This is not resistance. It is a militia-based expansionist project, brandishing the slogan of “liberating Jerusalem” while tearing Arab capitals apart and fueling civil wars.
Slogans do not ensure sovereignty, interests do
It is shameful to keep promoting the “resistance” narrative echoed by some leftist or Islamist movements under the banner of “anti-Israel” while Iran has clearly become an expansionist state, waging dual assaults — religious against communities, and geographic against sovereign states.
There is no patriotism in siding with regimes that threaten our nation, just because we oppose another power. The true enemy is whoever undermines our sovereignty and interests, not the one with whom we disagree in the media.
Morocco first, no room for Tehran’s apologists
Anyone who justifies, remains silent, or defends Iran — fully aware of its support for the Polisario and its attempts to convert Moroccans — is complicit in undermining Morocco’s sovereignty. They must bear the consequences of their stance, as this is no longer a matter of opinion, but one of national existence and citizen dignity.
Dismantling the false solidarity narrative
We must expose the narrative portraying Iran as a victim and demonstrate that it is a rogue state spreading sectarianism and division.
We must highlight Morocco’s official evidence of Iran’s involvement and support to the Polisario.
We must document Iranian efforts to spread religious conversion and ideological recruitment in the Maghreb.
We must uncover Iranian influence networks operating under cultural and humanitarian fronts.
Sovereignty above slogans
It is time to redefine the term “enemy” according to sovereignty and national interest, not ideological or misleading slogans. Iran is not a “friend of the Arabs”, but an adversary exploiting our weaknesses to infiltrate from within. Those who raise its flag do not defend Palestine — they pave the way for Rabat, Tunis, and Algiers to become the next Mosul, Aleppo, or Sanaa.
Morocco first. Sovereignty above all else.
