What Does Morocco's Break with Iran Mean?

While Iran's foreign policy is heavily entangled in controversial issues such as the nuclear and missile files, Morocco announced that it has closed its embassy in Tehran and asked Mohammad Taqi Moayed, the Islamic Republic's ambassador in Rabat, to leave the country. As the world awaits Trump's announcement regarding the continuation or withdrawal from the JCPOA, the news of Rabat's severing ties with Tehran has not received much media attention. This comes at a time when the pressure from the U.S. and its allies on Tehran regarding its missile and nuclear programs is ongoing, alongside their policy of isolating the Islamic Republic. An example of these efforts can be seen in Rabat's severance of relations with Tehran. Rabat cited Hezbollah's connections with the separatists of the Polisario Front as the reason for this decision. Rabat claims to have obtained credible documents indicating that the Iranian embassy in Algeria facilitated meetings between Hezbollah officials and the Polisario Front, and that Hezbollah has been financially supporting and training Polisario forces since November 2016 in an effort to assist this separatist movement. Rabat sees this alleged action by Hezbollah as being under the auspices of the Islamic Republic, which is the founder and comprehensive supporter of Hezbollah, and for this reason, it has cut ties with Tehran. The Polisario Liberation Front believes that Western Sahara is occupied by Morocco. This desert, covering an area of 245,857 square kilometers, is located south of Morocco and has been annexed by Morocco since 1979. The foreign policy of the Islamic Republic is in a state of passivity, resulting in Arab and Muslim countries severing or reducing relations with Tehran on various occasions. This indicates that the policy of isolating Iran, which is desired by Saudi Arabia, Israel, and the U.S., has progressed successfully. On the other hand, Morocco's break with Iran has been warmly welcomed by Bahrain and the UAE. In recent years, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Yemen, Djibouti, and Sudan have severed their relations with Tehran. Egypt has also been in a state of political estrangement from Tehran for nearly four decades. Thus, Morocco is the seventh Arab country to cut diplomatic ties with Tehran. The severance of relations by this number of Arab countries with Tehran is a testament to the existing tensions between Iran and the Arab world, especially when we recall that Tehran's relations with many other Arab countries like Jordan, Tunisia, Algeria, Kuwait, the UAE, Lebanon, etc., are not particularly warm. This is well reflected in the negative votes of Arab countries in the Arab League and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation against the Islamic Republic. However, what distinguishes Morocco's severance of ties is that this is the second time this has occurred. The first time Rabat severed relations with Tehran was in 2009, which lasted until 2016. In that year, Rabat cited the Shiite activities of the Islamic Republic as the reason for cutting ties, claiming it was an insult to Morocco's religious values based on the Maliki school of thought. Now, less than two years after renewing relations with Tehran, the severance of ties again, this time under the pretext of interference in internal affairs, is very meaningful. Although Morocco and Iran have not had close relations in the past two years, analysts suggest that the severance of ties is not due to Iran's interference in Morocco's internal affairs but rather due to Saudi pressure on Rabat, which seizes every opportunity to isolate the Islamic Republic. A prominent example of this Saudi approach can be seen in Sudan's severance of relations with Tehran, which had close ties with Tehran but ultimately joined the Saudi camp and participated militarily in the Arab coalition led by Riyadh in its war against the Tehran-backed Houthis. Following Rabat's renewed severance of ties with Tehran, what is most noteworthy is that the Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson did not respond strongly to this event, merely labeling the statements attributed to the Moroccan Foreign Minister regarding the cooperation of an Iranian diplomat residing at the Iranian embassy in Algeria with the Polisario Front as incorrect and unfounded. Given Tehran's comprehensive support for Hezbollah, the spokesperson did not deny the connection between Hezbollah and the Polisario Front. Meanwhile, Hezbollah is under significant pressure from Saudi Arabia, which has listed Hezbollah as a terrorist organization and has managed to pass resolutions against it in the Gulf Cooperation Council, the Arab League, and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation. Hezbollah, for its part, has denied any connection with the Polisario Front and considers Rabat's accusations against it to be the result of pressure from the U.S., Israel, and Saudi Arabia on Rabat, denying any ties with the Polisario Liberation Front against Rabat. If Hezbollah's claim is correct that Rabat's decision to sever ties with Tehran was not made independently by Rabat but under pressure from Israel, the U.S., and Saudi Arabia, then similar actions may be expected from other countries as well. This means that the decisions of these countries to isolate Iran should be regarded as effective actions. In other words, the foreign policy of the Islamic Republic is in a state of passivity, resulting in Arab and Muslim countries severing or reducing relations with Tehran on various occasions. This indicates that the policy of isolating Iran, which is desired by Saudi Arabia, Israel, and the U.S., has progressed successfully.