Iran Welcomes Resumption of Diplomatic Ties with Morocco

Rabat – Iran’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Hossein Amir Abdollahian has expressed his country’s desire to restore diplomatic ties with Morocco, highlighting the importance of fostering friendly ties between Muslim countries.

“We also welcome the development of relations and the normalization of ties with other regional and global Islamic countries, including the Arab Republic of Egypt and the Muslim and brotherly country of Morocco,” Abdollahian said.

The minister made the statement in an address to ambassadors from Muslim countries on the occasion of Eid Al-Adha, a Muslim celebration known in English as the Feast of Sacrifice, Tehran Times reported on Thursday.

Abdollahian stressed his country’s readiness to foster positive relationships with Muslim countries, prioritize Islamic unity, and address regional and global issues impacting the Islamic world, including the Palestinian cause and the war in Sudan.

Morocco cut diplomatic ties with Iran in May 2018, accusing Iranian proxy Hezbollah of training and arming Polisario, a separatist movement claiming independence in Western Sahara and challenging Morocco’s territorial integrity.

While both Polisario and Iran denied the accusations, the Moroccan government presented evidence claiming collusion between the separatist front and Hezbollah.

The evidence included details of visits by senior Hezbollah officers to Algeria, meetings with Polisario officials, and a list of individuals involved in said contacts.

“The file was carefully prepared, for weeks, on the basis of information collected and cross-checked over several months,” Morocco’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Nasser Bourita said in an interview in 2018.

The accusations strained relations between Morocco and Iran, leading to the severing of diplomatic ties.

In an interview with Independent Arabia last year, Bourita emphasized that Morocco seeks relations based on mutual respect, calling for Iran to cease its interference in the country’s internal affairs, as well as to no longer support armed separatist groups.

“Morocco has no enmity with Iran, we want relations of mutual respect and that Tehran no longer supports armed separatist groups,” he said.