HIBAPRESS – Yassin Al-Damiri
Moroccan-Iranian relations have been governed by tension and repeated severance over the past four decades, within the context of political, security, and religious accumulations that Morocco considers a direct infringement on its sovereignty and territorial integrity.
The chronological sequence of events reveals that Rabat's decision to cut ties with Tehran was not the result of an isolated moment, but rather the result of a long path of disagreements, mutual accusations, and clear and obvious hostility towards the authoritarian regime in Iran.
The first stages of tension date back to February 27, 1980, when Iran, immediately after the success of what was called the "Islamic Revolution" led by Khomeini, rushed to recognize the fictitious Polisario Front.
Morocco considered the move a direct diplomatic attack on its sovereignty and territorial integrity, especially as it came in a sensitive regional and international context related to the Sahara conflict.
During the early eighties of the last century, Tehran deepened its relations with the Polisario Front and allowed it to open a representation in the Iranian capital. Rabat responded by reducing the level of diplomatic representation before later moving to completely sever political relations.
On January 22, 1984, the late King Hassan II directly accused Iran during a televised speech that coincided with internal disturbances witnessed by the Kingdom, considering that Iranian parties sought to destabilize and attempt to thwart the Islamic summit that Casablanca hosted. At that time, confiscated publications bearing images of Khomeini and indications of external incitement were displayed.
After years of cooling, the crisis returned strongly on March 6, 2009, when Morocco announced the severing of its diplomatic relations with Iran due to interference in internal affairs and attempts to spread the Shiite sect in Morocco and a number of allied countries.
Rabat considered that what it described as soft infiltration through cultural and religious channels constitutes a threat to the Sunni religious identity of the Kingdom and the components of internal stability, which prompted it to make the decision to sever ties at the time.
On May 2, 2018, Morocco announced the severing of its relations with Iran again, accusing Tehran, through its regional arm Hezbollah, of providing military support to the Polisario Front.
Rabat revealed in official statements information indicating that elements of Hezbollah, at the instigation of Iran, were training and arming Polisario fighters, with the Iranian embassy in Algeria being used as a logistical base to coordinate operations.
The Moroccan authorities also spoke of providing the alleged front with advanced weapons, including surface-to-air missile systems, and in the same year, Morocco submitted an official file to the Iranian Foreign Minister containing evidence of meetings, training, and logistical networks related to arming operations, and accused the Iranian cultural attache in Algeria, Amir Mousavi, of playing a key role in this support.
Between July and October 2021, Moroccan reports spoke of electronic attacks and espionage attempts linked to Iran that targeted the communications and internet infrastructure in the Kingdom, and in May of the same year, Morocco renewed its accusations against Tehran of supporting militias that threaten its territorial integrity.
In 2022, data emerged indicating the transition of Iranian support from the training and coordination stage to the stage of providing the Polisario with drones, which Rabat considered a qualitative escalation in the nature of the threats.
In October 2024, Iran reiterated its support for the Polisario Front during deliberations at the United Nations, a position that Rabat considered a continuation of a hostile approach to its territorial integrity.
Reports in 2025 also circulated information indicating that the Polisario Front sought to obtain Iranian-made Mohajer-6 drones through mediation with former Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, who was recently arrested by America, which, according to observers, reflects the transition of the conflict to more complex technological and military dimensions.
This chronological path shows that the severance between Rabat and Tehran was not a circumstantial decision, but rather came as a result of political, security, and religious accumulations that the Kingdom considers red lines.
Iran, for years, has sought to strike all countries ruled by monarchical regimes because of its complex about the rule of the Shah, who was overthrown by Khomeini's followers, and it has strived to destabilize the security and stability of a number of Sunni Arab countries, considering that the Shiite sect is the one that must prevail in all Islamic countries.
