The British government said this week it had no evidence of Iranian support for the Polisario Front, the Algeria-backed armed movement seeking independence for Western Sahara from Morocco despite Rabat's assertions of Tehran's backing.
Foreign Office Minister of State for International Development and Africa Baroness Chapman told the House of Lords on Monday that “the UK has not seen evidence of Iranian support for the Polisario Front."
"However, we continue to monitor Iranian activity in the region," said Chapman, adding that Britain "has long condemned Iran’s destabilizing provision of political, military and financial support to its proxies and partners,” and would continue working with allies to counter Tehran.
Morocco, a Western-aligned monarchy on Europe's southern flank, joined in normalization accords with Israel during US President Donald Trump's first term.
It has occupied the territory of Western Sahara, a former Spanish colony, for decades and fought Algerian-backed insurgents whom it accuses of receiving arms and training from Tehran.
Morocco cut diplomatic ties with Iran in 2018 over the allegations, which Tehran denies.
Lord Godson, a conservative peer who had asked Labour's Baroness Chapman about Polisario in the debate on Monday, appeared unconvinced.
"I thank the Minister for her answer. However, there is much open-source evidence of a mutual admiration society between the present Iranian regime, the IRGC and the Polisario on the other side," he replied, asking the government to further investigate.
A policy brief from the Washington-based Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD) has argued that Tehran’s reach in North Africa has quietly expanded through proxy networks extending from Lebanon to Algeria.
The report says Hezbollah has trained Polisario fighters in Syria, some of whom later fought alongside pro-Assad forces.
It also cites past Moroccan claims that Tehran sent missiles to the Polisario via Hezbollah operatives working out of Iran’s embassy in Algiers—accusations that led
Iran has for decades sought expanded influence in the Middle East by supporting armed groups at odds with established US-backed authorities.
