Iran opens a front in a distance, warns an expert on Middle Eastern affairs

Expert on Middle Eastern affairs Ehud Yaari has warned against Iran’s scheme to lay its influence and flare up wars in distant areas, mainly in North Africa and the Sahel-Sahara region, noting that the Iranians may acquire new outposts that would increase their ability to blackmail and threaten, and of course allow new jumping off points for sowing terrorism.

In this connection, the Israeli journalist, author, and political commentator pointed out in a column that Iran’s Revolutionary Guards are not stopping and are now busy igniting a dangerous flare-up of fighting against Morocco, an old friend of Israel, which is the last to join, for now, the “Abraham Accords”.

Supplying attack drones to the “polisario front” could eliminate the ceasefire in the “Western Sahara” and even lead to a military conflict between Morocco and Algeria, he warned.

According to reports from a variety of sources in the United States, France and Spain, the Iranians intend – and may have already begun – to transfer to Algeria a large quantity of attack drones from the latest models of the Shahad, which are already being operated by the Russians in Ukraine.

At least some of them are supposed to be delivered to the fighters of the “Polisario” in the Tindouf region of southwestern Algeria.

Recalling the genesis of the Sahara issue and the separatist movement’s vain schemes to conquer the Saharan provinces, the author of the column noted that in recent years, Morocco has gradually gained more and more international support for its proposal to grant large autonomy to these provinces under its sovereignty. This growing support irked the “Polisario” and their mentor, Algeria, which were left at bay.

The Israeli political commentator explained that Iran has entered the picture, hoping to create a new kind of threat to Morocco: to turn the “polisario” into a military force like the militias it diligently established in Syria, Iraq and Yemen – as in Gaza – and those it is trying to establish in Azerbaijan, Afghanistan and other corners of the world.

The Iranians, apparently, are not alone: Russia is trying to get a naval base from Algeria, supplies it with weapons and has already transferred through it to Mali and Burkina Faso (after the military coups there) the mercenaries from the Wagner Group.

After the French army was driven out from the area, Putin aims to penetrate further into the desert strip of the Sahel, the columnist wrote, recalling that “Israel hopes to establish relations with the Sahel countries, such as Niger and Mauritania, in order to open an air route for flights directly over them – through the skies of Sudan and Chad, straight to Brazil and Argentina.”

He warned that suicide drone attacks against Morocco would change the picture in North Africa and “it will take a great American effort to prevent an open confrontation between Morocco and Algeria, who have already fought each other in the Tindouf area in the past.”

“The Iranians may acquire new outposts that will increase their ability to blackmail and threaten, and of course allow new jumping off points for sowing terrorism,” he stated, adding “all this is happening in a distance, but it is still too close to us.”