Rabat – A former French counterintelligence agent has revealed that Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and Hezbollah helped establish a network supporting the Polisario Front, including through military training, equipment, and funding.
In an interview with Moroccan outlet Le360, Matthieu Ghadiri, who infiltrated Iranian intelligence services for France, described what he presented as a long-running relationship between Iran, Hezbollah, Algeria, and the Polisario.
Born in Tehran, Ghadiri was recruited by France’s DST in the 1980s to infiltrate Iranian intelligence services. He later received France’s National Police Medal of Honor for services rendered.
Ghadiri said the relationship between Iran and the Polisario began before the 1979 Islamic Revolution, when representatives of the separatist group met Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini in France.
According to Ghadiri, Khomeini sought ties with groups that opposed Western-aligned governments, regardless of whether they were nationalist, Marxist, or Islamist.
From political ties to military support
Ghadiri told Le360 that the relationship later developed into military and security cooperation, with Iran’s Quds Force playing the strategic role and Hezbollah acting as an intermediary.
He described Hezbollah as a key part of Iran’s external network, saying the group was tasked with training Polisario members, providing equipment, and facilitating the movement of recruits to Lebanon and Syria.
“The Algerians will never allow Iran to take total control of the Polisario,” Ghadiri told Le360, arguing that Algeria maintains political and security control over the separatist group. “They accept that the Islamic Republic helps, trains, finances, and equips it, but they intend to retain political, security, and territorial control,” he added.
He described the arrangement as a three-level system. The Quds Force sets strategic objectives, Hezbollah handles operational support, and Algerian authorities oversee access to the Polisario.
Ghadiri also revealed that some Polisario members were recruited to fight alongside Iran-backed forces in the Middle East. He further added that Iranian support could include drones, rockets, military equipment, communications training, and the organization of mobile units.
Iran’s Sahel ambitions
Tehran’s interest in the Polisario extends beyond its rivalry with Morocco, Ghadiri says. He explained that the separatist group provides Iran with access to networks in the Sahara and Sahel, where the Quds Force seeks to expand its regional presence.
“The rapprochement with the Polisario Front thus served several purposes. It allowed Iran to indirectly combat Morocco, strengthen ties with Algeria, and open access to the Sahara and the Sahel. It was within this framework that cooperation gradually developed between Iranian structures, Algerian intelligence services, and the Polisario separatist movement,” the former agent detailed.
Ghadiri also pointed to Hezbollah’s links with Lebanese communities in Africa, saying these networks can facilitate financial and logistical activities. He said that Iran uses intermediaries to avoid establishing direct links with the Polisario, with Hezbollah playing a central role in transferring funds and equipment.
The former agent also described an ideological dimension to Iran’s activities, pointing to Al-Mustafa International University in Qom, which trains religious students from around the world. He stated that individuals from the Polisario and several African countries received training there before returning to their home countries.
Morocco-Iran tensions
Morocco cut diplomatic ties with Iran in 2018, accusing Tehran of supporting the Polisario through Hezbollah and that Iran’s embassy in Algiers had facilitated contacts between the two groups.
Ghadiri told Le360 that Iranian diplomatic missions can serve as interfaces between Iranian officials, local security services, and networks involved in Tehran’s regional activities.
“A case like the Polisario is therefore not treated as a simple diplomatic relationship,” he said. “It is part of a regional strategy” combining intelligence, clandestine operations, ideological influence, and military support.
Meanwhile, efforts to designate the Polisario as a terrorist organization have gained momentum in the US. On July 31, US lawmakers introduced a new bipartisan bill seeking to advance such a designation, with the proposal citing concerns over the group’s activities, including weapons trafficking and the use of armed drones against civilian targets.
“For too long, Iran and its terrorist proxies, like Hezbollah, have used the Polisario Front to project instability across West Africa,” said Representative Ronny Jackson. “This bill ensures the Trump administration is equipped to fully investigate the Polisario Front and take decisive action to counter threats to the national security of the U.S. and our allies. We must use every available tool to combat terrorism, dismantle the networks that enable it, and protect the American people.”
The measure follows earlier efforts in Congress, including a March 2026 Senate bill introduced by Senators Ted Cruz, Tom Cotton, and Rick Scott that would require the US Secretary of State to assess whether the Polisario is cooperating with Iranian-affiliated groups already subject to US terrorism sanctions.
“The Iranian regime is trying to turn the Polisario Front into the Houthis of West Africa and use them to undermine the national security of the United States and our allies. The Polisario Front is working with Iranian terrorist groups, receiving drones from the IRGC, and moving weapons around the region on behalf of the Iranian regime,” Cruz said.
