Iran on Wednesday strongly denied the Moroccan government’s claims that it has backed pro-independence Polisario Front, describing such accusations as “unfounded and void of truth”.
“we would like to clearly emphasize that one of the pillars of the Islamic Republic of Iran’s foreign policies in its relations with other governments is deep respect for the right of sovereignty, security and non-interference in others’ internal affairs,” Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Bahram Qasemi said, ISNA reported.
On Tuesday, Morocco said it would close its embassy in Tehran and would expel the Iranian ambassador in Rabat over what it claimed was Iran’s support for the Polisario Front, a Western Sahara independence movement, 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.
Hezbollah later disputed the claims, adding that the Moroccan government has made the accusations under pressure from US, Israel and Saudi Arabia.
“It is regrettable that Morocco resorts to such false accusations,” it said.
ISNA reported that an “informed source in Iranian Foreign Ministry” has told the news agency that Moroccan foreign minister had made a trip to Tehran on Tuesday and met with Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif.
It said Zarif had rejected the Moroccan charges during the visit.
War of Nerves
In the same vein, Kamal Dehqani Firouzabadi, a member of Majlis National Security and Foreign Policy Commission, refuted claims of Iran’s interference in other countries internal affairs, describing the scenario as the latest episode of an Israeli-led “war of nerves” against Tehran.
“The Islamic Republic of Iran would never intervene in other countries’ affairs unless [officially] asked to,” he said.
Firouzabadi believes that Riyadh is toeing Israel’s line in spreading propaganda against Iran by making outrageous claims that Tehran is backing Polisario Front through Hezbollah.
“A war of nerves is being used against Iran by Washington and Tel Aviv, backed by Persian Gulf nations of the UAE and Saudi Arabia,” he added.
Morocco claimed Western Sahara after colonial Spain left, but Polisario fought a guerrilla war for independence for the Sahrawi people until a UN-backed ceasefire.
In 2009, Morocco cut diplomatic links with Iran, accusing it of supporting a popular uprising against the rulers of Bahrain–which was later brutally cracked down by Saudi troops. Ties were gradually restored around 2014, but they were never strong, with Rabat backing Tehran’s rival, Saudi Arabia.
