Africa becoming new arena for US-Iran rivalry

Ali Rajab

Moroccan Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita and US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo discussed means of preventing the expansion of Iranian influence in the region during a meeting in Rabat on October 22.

The two ministers especially discussed Iranian presence in North and West Africa. They also discussed counterterrorism efforts in the same regions.

Both ministers agreed to maintain their cooperation to serve their shared interests and boost regional stability.

They also agreed to cooperate in the fight against terrorist groups, especially al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb and the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria.

Morocco’s position toward Iran is almost identical with this of the United States.

Morocco cut off diplomatic ties with Iran in May 2018 after accusing Tehran of offering support to the Polisario Front through the Lebanese Hezbollah movement.

Iran rejected the Moroccan accusations. It said the Moroccan move was taken under pressure from the US and Israel.

In September 2018, Bourita said Iran backed the Polisario Front in order to expand its influence in North and West Africa, especially in countries overlooking the Atlantic Ocean.

He added that his country had demanded clarification from the Iranian Foreign Ministry on this.

This request was, however, overlooked by the Iranian Foreign Ministry, Bourita said.

He added that this was why his country had decided to sever its diplomatic ties with Iran.

He said Iran wants to use the conflict between Morocco and Algeria, on one hand, and the conflict between Morocco and the Polisario Front, on the other, in widening its influence in the region.

Morocco and the US are also worried about Iranian presence in the Sahel and Sahara region as well as in North Africa, Bourita said.