Morocco security official: ‘Iran, Hezbollah undermining stability with Algeria’s help’

The director of the Central Judicial Research Office of the General Directorate for monitoring the national territory of Morocco, Haboub Al-Sharqawi, announced in an interview with the Israeli Channel i24NEWS that there are links between Iran and the Polisario Front.

“There has been a real threat against Morocco coming from Iran and Hezbollah with the help of Algeria since 2017. Iran has been supporting the Polisario Front through Hezbollah and with the help of Algeria,” according to Al-Sharqawi.

Al-Sharqawi pointed out a: “Rapprochement between Iran and Hezbollah on the one hand, and the Polisario Front and Algeria on the other. This rapprochement threatens Morocco’s stability and security, and Polisario militias are being trained by Hezbollah and Revolutionary Guard cadres with the help of Algeria.”

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Al-Sharqawi recommended: “Intensifying coordination and information exchange between countries. The Abraham Accords made it possible to strengthen strategic and security relations through exchanging information and experiences”. He praised the: “Very high level of rapprochement between Israel and Morocco. The Abraham Accords were put in place to achieve peace and security and counter the expansion of Iran and Hezbollah.”

It is worth noting that the Algerian authorities have repeatedly denied these Moroccan accusations and even accused Rabat of “settling with the Zionist entity” with all the risks to the region’s security.

According to the Israeli website, Moroccan Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita warned on 4 October: “The acquisition of drones by non-state actors poses a threat to international peace and security. These armed non-state actors have no legal responsibility; they are not parties to disarmament agreements or agreements to use weapons, unlike official governments.”

According to the same website, the former Interior Minister of the Polisario Front, Omar Mansour, from Mauritania, announced: “The separatist front is about to use drones against Morocco.”

i24NEWS revealed how the Polisario Front, based in Tindouf, Algeria, worked to organise a large-scale illicit money laundering network based in Spain, linked to the Lebanese Hezbollah.

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i24NEWS disclosed that it obtained this information through access to a report by an unnamed Western intelligence agency, written by financial investigators, and reports from the Spanish Civil Guard forces. The channel said that its security affairs correspondent identified Ahmed Abdel Rahman as the mastermind behind Hawala, an informal method of transferring money through brokers.

US expert on Strategic Affairs, Llewellyn King, wrote in an analysis published in the Boston Herald: “Now, Iranian drones are being deployed in North Africa, posing a direct threat to Morocco. Iran has built generations of drones, large and small, but they are increasingly sophisticated. The captured American aircraft inspired Iranian engineers, and some advanced technologies have been integrated.”

King pointed out: “Iran has concluded that its strength lies not in the competition of power for power; but in helping unequal conflicts, which is why it spends a lot of money and time on terrorism, a lot of money and time on ballistic missiles. Morocco has expressed real concerns about these aircraft; while they may not win the war, they can inflict serious damage on a variety of targets, from tourist centres to military installations to vital energy networks and power plants.”

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