Iran and Algeria Accused of Using Polisario Front as Proxy, Report Reveals

"Over the years, Iran has favored a wide range of proxy groups to advance its interests," states a Washington Post report. The newspaper relies on statements from a regional official and a third European official who claimed that Iran had trained fighters from the "Algeria-based Polisario Front" who are now held by the new Syrian security forces. In January, converging reports also showed how the Algerian regime received a blow from the new Syrian resident, Ahmed al-Sharaa, who rejected the regime’s request to release the Polisario militias that fought under Bashar al-Assad’s regime.

In 2018, Morocco had broken off relations with Iran, on the grounds that the Lebanese group supported by Tehran, Hezbollah, was training Polisario Front militiamen. Rabat had also accused Tehran of providing logistical aid to the Polisario and wanting to spread Shiism in Africa and among Maghreb communities settled in Europe. These accusations were flatly denied by Algeria and Iran. But Rabat insisted that it held numerous proofs. At the time, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, African Cooperation and Moroccans Residing Abroad, Nasser Bourita, stated that Morocco had provided detailed evidence of collusion between the Polisario and Hezbollah.

"The file was meticulously prepared, over weeks, based on information collected and cross-checked over several months," the Moroccan foreign minister had declared. He added: the document summarizes "proven and precise facts: dates of visits by senior Hezbollah officials to Algeria, dates and places of meetings with Polisario officials, and a list of names of agents involved in these contacts."

In 2022, the spokesman for the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Saeed Khatibzadeh, had, during a weekly press conference, stated that the allegations of the Moroccan foreign minister were "unfounded," calling them "baseless projections," reported Iran International.