An Algerian-Iranian rapprochement on the verge of discord and tensions with Morocco
Iran and Algeria are preparing to strengthen their alliances and launch a new phase of relations based on strengthening the politics of axis and alignment, while the Algerian-Iranian rapprochement comes amid a crisis and diplomatic rupture between Morocco and the Kingdom’s eastern neighbor, a rupture strongly supported by Tehran.
Iran is seeking to open wider outlets to vent its economic crisis, circumvent international sanctions, and form an external front in Africa through the gate of the Maghreb region in the face of Israel, which in 2020 resumed diplomatic relations with Morocco as part of agreements concluded with the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, and later Sudan under U.S. auspices.
Since 2018, diplomatic relations between Rabat and Tehran have been severed due to Hezbollah’s ties with Iran’s Polisario Front, a Lebanese proxy, and Iran’s confirmed subversive role through the Iranian embassy in Algiers, targeting the kingdom’s security and stability.
The diplomatic rupture between Morocco on the one hand and Algeria and Iran on the other is a point of convergence and consensus between the two countries, who are moving on a path that is hostile to Moroccan interests and Moroccan national security on the base of the enemy of my enemy is my friend.
With this logic of hostility, which has become an approach in Algerian and Iranian policy towards the Kingdom, the Iranian-Algerian rapprochement is accelerating along with an Algerian-Russian rapprochement, which ultimately constitutes a tripartite axis among the three countries, although Algeria and Iran are moving on a track that goes beyond simply promoting economic interests, to threaten the interests and security of Morocco, especially after the rapprochement between Rabat and Israel.
In this context, the Iranian Foreign Ministry announced in a statement that Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian informed his Algerian counterpart, Ramtane Lamamra, in a telephone call, about the invitation of Iranian President Ibrahim Raisi and his counterpart, Abdelmadjid Tebboune, to visit Tehran. The statement did not mention a date for the visit, while the Algerian authorities did not announce, for their part, whether Tebboune intends to visit Iran.
The Algerian and Iranian presidents met in Doha in February of last year on the sidelines of the sixth summit of gas exporting countries. Tebboune dispatched his prime minister to Tehran in August 2021 to attend Raisi’s inauguration as Iran’s president.
The Iranian Foreign Ministry said that Abdollahian and Lamamra discussed the most important issues of interest to both countries, including bilateral issues, regional developments, including in the region and the Islamic world, the recent storming of the Al-Aqsa Mosque by Israeli Minister of National Security Itamar Ben-Gvir, and Israeli provocations.
The Algerian Foreign Minister, in a conversation with his Iranian counterpart, announced his readiness to hold political consultations between the two countries in the near future. He also invited him to visit Algeria.
These developments indicate the expansion of the partnership between Iran and Algeria from economic to security, as per the requirements of interests but also according to their respective geopolitical objectives. Russia, which has close relations between the two countries, is another link that highlights the strategic link between the tripartite axis that became clear and strengthened after the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
The Iranian president’s invitation to his Algerian counterpart to visit Tehran comes as preparations began today in the United Arab Emirates for the Arab-Israeli summit ‘Negev 2 Forum’ called by the United States and the gathering of foreign ministers of the Arab countries that signed peace agreements two years ago with Israel, scheduled to be held in Morocco next March.
Large delegations of officials from Israel, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt, which have normalization agreements with Tel Aviv, are due to arrive in Rabat, along with a high-level American delegation.
