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Rabat – Algerian President Abdelmadjijd Tebboune has defended his government’s decision to reinstate the visa requirement for foreign nationals holding Moroccan passports.
In an interview with local media last night, Tebboune explained that the move was driven by “political and security considerations.”
“There is a collaboration, not just a simple one… between the Zionist entity and Morocco. It’s political… What concerns us is the security aspect. We have suspicions about certain individuals (Israelis) entering Algeria with Moroccan passports,” Tebboune said.
When a journalist asked whether these individuals were spies, Tebboune responded, “Not necessarily… but why are they coming here, whether they are intelligence agents or military personnel, when they visit ports like Oran or Mers El Kebir? They enter with passports from an Arab country that is not subject to the visa regime. This poses a real danger.”
Tebboune also addressed his government’s announcement last September regarding the “arrest of three Moroccan spies.”
“Some of them fled Algeria because they had fake Moroccan passports. In this context, reinstating the visa requirement is an act of self-defense,” Tebboune claimed.
Read Also: Algeria Slaps Visa Requirements on Moroccans to Cover Failure of Anti-Morocco Diplomacy
Algeria’s recent decision to reinstate visa requirements for Moroccan passport holders marks a major escalation in the already tense relations between the two North African neighbors.
This move corresponds to the broader pattern of counteractions by Algeria in response to Moroccan diplomatic momentum. The timing of the decision is particularly notable, as it came on the same day Denmark announced its support for Morocco’s Autonomy Plan.
Algeria’s visa imposition can also be viewed as part of a wider propaganda campaign aimed at overshadowing the growing international support for Morocco’s territorial integrity.
The regime in Algiers has consistently reacted to Moroccan diplomatic advances with measures designed to challenge Morocco’s international popularity, with the visa requirement being the latest in a series of retaliatory moves.
As Moroccan diplomacy continues to garner international support for its position on the Sahara, Algeria seems to be intensifying its counternarratives and counterattacks.
