Ricardo Sánchez Serra
A new report from the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD), published on April 17, has once again focused global attention on Iran's growing involvement in North Africa, highlighting a phenomenon of growing concern in the international community: the instrumentalization and internationalization of the dispute over the Sahara by state and non-state actors, particularly Iran and its allies.
According to this detailed analysis, the Iranian regime uses the Polisario Front—a separatist movement based in the Tindouf camps in Algeria—as a strategic extension of its military influence in the region, benefiting from the operational support of Hezbollah and an active diplomatic network spearheaded by its embassy in Algiers.
Likewise, according to the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD) report, Iran has facilitated the delivery of advanced weapons to Polisario, including SAM-9, SAM-11, and Strela surface-to-air missiles, channeled with the direct cooperation of Hezbollah, an organization that has served as Tehran's regional armed wing for decades. The Iranian embassy in Algiers, according to the document, acts as a logistics and coordination center for these operations.
Everything indicates that, far from being an isolated incident, these actions are part of a broader strategy of Persian expansion beyond its immediate neighborhood. Following its operations in Syria, Lebanon, Yemen, and the Horn of Africa, Tehran is now targeting the Maghreb and the Mediterranean region, taking advantage of the artificial conflict in Western Sahara to destabilize Morocco, a central player in North Africa's security architecture and a key ally of the West.
It should be noted that these revelations reinforce the warnings Morocco has been making since 2018, when the Kingdom severed diplomatic relations with Iran over the shipment of weapons to Polisario through Hezbollah. In 2022, new evidence emerged, including satellite images and official statements, confirming the separatist group's possession of Iranian drones. Similarly, in January 2025, videos circulated on social media showing drone attacks against Moroccan positions.
The report also recalls the November 2024 attack on the town of Mahbès, during a Green March commemoration event. The rockets, launched from Algerian territory according to Moroccan media, illustrate the Polisario's armed escalation and its growing dependence on foreign support.
It is important to highlight that one of the most worrying elements of the report is the assertion of links between the Polisario armed separatism and jihadist terrorism. Evidence of this is the emblematic case of Adnan Abou Walid al-Sahraoui, a former senior Polisario leader who became the emir of the Islamic State in the Sahel before being killed by French forces in Mali in 2021. His trajectory shows how the Tindouf camps have evolved into centers of radicalization and recruitment of fighters for networks such as Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) and the Islamic State itself.
In addition to the geopolitical risk, the report in question denounces serious human rights violations, particularly the use of minors within the Polisario camps. In this context, a Geneva-based NGO recently warned the UN Human Rights Council that hundreds of children in the camps are being kept away from their education and forced into military training. The report accuses the movement of systematically exploiting minors for political and military purposes since the 70s.
Thus, given the seriousness of the events described, the FDD urges the Trump administration to adopt two urgent measures: the rapid opening of a consular office in Dakhla, as a clear sign of support for Morocco's sovereignty over the Sahara; and the consideration of designating Polisario as a foreign terrorist organization, highlighting its attacks against Moroccan civilians and security forces, as well as its ties to jihadist networks that threaten U.S. interests and regional stability.
In short, Polisario's involvement in arms trafficking, terrorism, and child exploitation networks constitutes not only a direct threat to Morocco, but also a destabilizing factor for the entire Maghreb region and Western strategic interests in the Mediterranean and the Sahel. In this context, the response of the United States and its allies is crucial to halting this new geopolitical offensive by Iran and its proxies in the region.
A somewhat surprising report considering what a Spaniard is used to through the Spanish media. All Spaniards—and this is a picturesque case in which there is no distinction of ideology—have a very positive image of the so-called Sahrawi people, the former Spanish colony that was seized from Spain just after Franco's death, taken advantage of by Morocco with the famous Green March. Spain, still very fascist and full of fascist soldiers, did not respond militarily. It is believed to avoid causing a massacre or because Spain was in too turbulent a period to get involved in a war. Although there is certainly no shortage of Jewish-Masonic conspiracies, with the CIA and former King Juan Carlos I agreeing to hand over the Sahara to his friend, the King of Morocco, Hassan II, a loyal ally of the United States.
The Polisario Front is an organization closely linked to Spain, even though it is an armed group with a communist ideology, perhaps similar to Arafat's Fatah, or Iran and its Shiite satellite terrorist groups would be somewhat more communist among Muslim extremist ideologies. It is common for Sahrawi children to spend several weeks in Spain hosted by communist volunteers, or for them to travel to the Sahara, although the rest of the ideologies are also involved, including Spanish fascists. The picturesque circumstance arises that the Sahara conflict unites the right, socialists, communists, separatists, and even Spanish fascists. It would be like anti-Semitism, only without so much conspiracy nonsense and without having to resort to religion or the occult, which some Spaniards may not understand.
But recently, it has been the Socialists, in the current governing coalition with the Communists, who have redefined Spain's official position, preferring to sever official ties between Spain and the Polisario Front or support Morocco's position, with strong criticism from Polisario Front leaders and, in Spain, from opposition parties. The general view among Spaniards, although there is much variation or convenience, is that in this conflict Morocco is the bad guy or the oppressor, a very undemocratic regime, and at least for Spanish Communists, this is similar to the case of Saudi Arabia. However, Spanish relations, and official relations between Spain and Morocco, are generally quite normal or even friendly, with many Spanish companies established in Morocco. This also includes military personnel such as the legionaries, the most fascist and the main criminals during the Civil War or previously during the Moroccan wars, mistreating and even murdering Rif civilians with chemical bombs. However, we must not forget that during the Civil War, the Moors were part of the fascist side, both the Moors loyal to the King of Morocco and the Rif rebels. The latter were convinced with promises of money and the intention of waging a holy war against the "red" infidels. The former were sent by the Spanish fascists as cannon fodder and distinguished themselves by their cruelty, with looting, rape, amputations, etc. After the end of the Civil War, the Moors of Morocco formed the famous Moorish Guard, a group of Franco's bodyguards who paraded alongside the dictator with great fanfare until Franco got rid of them all. It was dissolved in 1956 after Morocco's independence.
In addition to all of the above, we must not forget that Moroccan immigrants in Spain number 1.100.000, making up the largest percentage by nationality, and Moroccans constitute the vast majority of Muslim immigrants. Despite being the main target of racism from Spanish fascists or a large portion of Spaniards, or of the racism that fascists spread to a large portion of Spaniards, and despite the fact that Moroccans are discriminated against or often live in marginal neighborhoods, Spain rarely experiences the serious problems that other European countries have with Muslims, especially Moroccans, such as the marginal ghettos and crime hotbeds in France, or the extremely violent cocaine-trafficking mafias in the Netherlands. According to what is said in Spain, Moroccans are very loyal to Morocco or their king, even if it means beatings.