Last year, Morocco reacted quickly to the comeback of John Bolton, named by Donald Trump as the 27th National Security Advisor of the United States. Since the former diplomat took office, the Kingdom made significant moves against Iran, supported Venezuela and repatriated nationals detained by the Syrian Democratic Forces.
Ten days after Rabat hosted the 14th session of the Parliamentary Union of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation Member States, Morocco broke silence on Iran’s absence. The Kingdom’s parliament speaker believes that «Tehran disrespected the session’s rules».
Earlier this week, media reports suggested that an Iranian parliamentary delegation was prevented from attending the 14th session of the Parliamentary Union of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation Member States. A source within the parliament denied these reports, stressing that Iran chose not to participate to the meeting.
In Washington, Foreign Affairs Minister Nasser Bourita met with his counterpart Mike Pompeo. The two officials discussed Morocco’s efforts to «counter Iran’s malign influence». Attending the meeting of the Global Coalition to defeat ISIS, Bourita did not meet John Bolton as predicted.