Iran guilty of sowing instability, arming Polisario separatists- Der Tagesspiegel says

Iran’s mischief in Africa through arming separatist and radical groups across the continent poses a risk to regional stability, German media Der Tahesspiegel wrote.

In an article on Iran’s strategic opportunism in Africa, Stephan Andreas Casdorff highlighted that Iran had supplied the Polisario separatists with surface to air missiles.

As it seeks to gain new allies, Iran saw in the Polisario potential proxies similar to Hezbollah in Lebanon to undermine North African states notably Morocco as well as Western interests.

“Iran mandated Lebanon’s Hezbollah to train Polisario fighters in the Algeria-based camps,” the German paper recalled.

The article explains how Iran used instability in many African countries to spread Shiite rite among Sunni groups and arm radicals that would serve Tehran’s agenda in the continent.

It pointed out that Iran is particularly interested in the Central African Republic, Cameroun, Ghana, Niger and the DRC.

Morocco has severed ties with Iran which it accused – together with its Hezbollah proxies- of arming and training the Polisario in April 2018. Since then, Morocco has campaigned against Iran’s strategy in Africa.