‘Disregard for rules’ keeps Iran away from OIC meeting in Rabat

Iran did not attend a meeting of the Parliamentary Union of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) recently held in Rabat due to a disregard for rules, said Morocco’s Parliament speaker Habib El Malki.

“Iran did not respect the rules in force in order to take part in the session,” which was held on March 10-14, he said, adding that “It is difficult to accept a delegation of 30 or 40 people.”

El Malki said he had asked the OIC general secretariat to intercede with member countries to reduce the number of their delegations and Iran was the only country that didn’t observe the rules.

Rabat cut off ties with Tehran in 2009, and only renewed them in December 2016. The Kingdom cut relations off once again on May 1, 2018, in protest against the military support provided by the Iranian-backed Hezbollah group to the Polisario separatists, armed, funded and sheltered by the Algerian regime.