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Morocco cuts diplomatic ties with Iran, citing Hezbollah's support for the Polisario

On May 1st, Morocco cut diplomatic relations with Iran. The Kingdom denounces the involvement of Hezbollah in supporting the Polisario.

Morocco cuts diplomatic ties with Iran over the Polisario./Ph. DR
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Morocco has ended diplomatic relations with Iran, Moroccan Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita said this afternoon. The decision comes as Lebanese militia Hezbollah showed support for the Polisario Front, a diplomatic source told Yabiladi.

«Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita traveled to Tehran this morning to explain to Iranian officials the reasons for the Moroccan decision», the same source added.

«Morocco has information proving that the Lebanese Shiite militia is providing trainings for forces from the separatist movement».

For Morocco, the intervention of Hezbollah in the regional conflict could not have been possible without the green light of the Iranian authorities. For the rcord, fighters from the movement are present in Syria alongside Bashar Al Assad's troops.

It is not the first time

Morocco notes that this support for the Polisario front has increased, especially since the arrest, in March 2017 at the Mohammed V airport in Casablanca, of Kacem Tajeddine. The Shiite Lebanese national was the subject of an international arrest warrant, issued against him by the US judicial authorities.

At that time, Lebanese media close to Hezbollah had called the decision a «kidnapping» of the billionaire by the Moroccan authorities, while he is considered by Washington as one of the financiers of Hassan Nasserallah's organization.

For their part, the Moroccan authorities blame Hezbollah for providing logistical and technical support to the Front in its latest skirmishes in the buffer zones, in Tifariti and Bir Lahlou.

Back from Tehran, Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita received on Tuesday the chargé d'affaire of the Iranian embassy to sign the rupture of diplomatic ties between the two countries, asking him «to immediately leave the Kingdom of Morocco».

In 2015, Morocco and Iran had decided to restore diplomatic ties, after six years, because of a statement issued over the sovereignty of Bahrain.

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