Iran has denied charges that its embassy in Algeria cooperated with the Polisario Front, a Western Sahara independence movement, cautioning that Morocco's move to suspend relations with Tehran over baseless allegations was a strategic mistake committed under foreign pressure.
"It was a strategic error by the Moroccan government and it is not the first time that Morocco shows such behavior," Foreign Ministry Spokesman Bahram Qassemi told reporters in Tehran on Monday, Fars News Agency reported.
Last week Morocco said it would close its embassy in Tehran and expel the Iranian ambassador in Rabat over what it claimed was Iran’s support for the Polisario Front, Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita told reporters.
He claimed Iran and its Lebanese ally, Hezbollah, were supporting Polisario by training and arming its fighters, via the Iranian Embassy in Algeria.
Qassemi said Morocco likely cut off ties with Iran under pressure and the influence of certain powers hostile to Iran, adding that the allegations raised against Tehran are irrelevant.
Although he did not mention any particular country, his remarks were seemingly directed toward Saudi Arabia, which has time and again tried to drive a wedge between Iran and other Muslim nations.
In 2009, Morocco cut diplomatic links with Iran, accusing it of supporting a popular uprising against Bahrain’s minority rulers – which was later brutally cracked down by Saudi troops. Ties were gradually restored in 2014, but they were never strong, with Rabat backing the Saudi regime in its anti-Iran policies.
Qassemi rejected claims that Iranian diplomats have received a deadline to leave Morocco, but said they will return to Tehran in the next few days.
