Iranian Drones Supplied To Polisario Pose A “Direct Threat" To Morocco
Rabat, March 5 (TNA) Late last year, Rabat had accused Tehran of sending drones to the Sahrawi separatist group via Algeria. Now, Morocco is no longer alone in warning about the military links between Algeria and Iran and their consequences for North Africa and the Sahel. On the other side of the Atlantic, voices are also being heard to condemn this cooperation that promotes the destabilization of the region.
American columnist Llewellyn King warned in the Boston Herald of the "direct threat" posed to Morocco by Iranian drones supplied to the Polisario Front via Algeria. Late last year, Rabat accused Tehran of sending drones to the Sahrawi separatist group, which Moroccan Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita said was destabilizing "North and West Africa.
"Iran, after undermining the stability of Syria, Yemen, Iraq and Lebanon, is stabilizing our region," said Omar Hilal, Morocco's ambassador to the United Nations. For this reason, the diplomat assured that Morocco "is not the only one concerned", but that it is a challenge that concerns the whole region.
In this regard, the Kingdom also condemned the influence of Hezbollah in the region. "Moroccan diplomats are raising this issue with Western governments," notes the American analyst.
The King has also asserted that "Morocco has reason to be concerned," as drones can cause significant physical damage to tourist resorts as well as military installations, networks and power plants, as happened to Saudi Arabia with drones - also Iranian - launched by Houthi militias from Yemen.
King recalled that Tehran began developing such weapons during the 1980-1988 Iran-Iraq war. According to him, the regime went from creating simple drones effective only for surveillance, to developing generations of increasingly sophisticated drones, large and small.
In his article, King mentions Ilan Berman, vice president of the U.S. Foreign Policy Council. According to Berman, the only effective defense system against drones is Israel's Iron Dome, built with Israeli technology and funded by the United States. King writes that Morocco could request such a system to counter threats from Iran now that it is back on good terms with Israel.
This situation reflects very well the strategy pursued by the Islamic Republic of Iran to gain influence and destabilize the region. To this end, Tehran invests large sums of money in financing armed groups, as well as in developing weapons that are then shipped abroad. At this point, it is also worth mentioning the relevant and dangerous alliance between Russia and Iran and the sending of Iranian drones to the Russian military for use in the war in Ukraine.
The issue of Iranian drones in North Africa has also reached the European Parliament through the European People's Party MEP Antonio López-Istúriz White, who asked the High Representative for Foreign and Security Policy, Josep Borrell, what information Brussels has on the alleged supply of Iranian drones to the Polisario.