U.S. Foundation for Defense of Democracies calls for designating Polisario terrorist organization

The Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD) has called on the Trump administration to designate the Algeria-backed Polisario armed militias terrorist organization for its proven ties with Iran & Hezbollah and deadly rocket attacks launched against civilians in Smara, Southern Morocco.

In an analysis titled: “Iran’s Foothold Reaches into North Africa”, the experts of the Washington-based think-tank said Iran “trained Polisario fighters and with hundreds of them are now detained by Syria’s new forces”.

Polisario’s presence in Syria, fighting on behalf of the Tehran-backed regime of Bashar al-Assad, proves it is an Iranian proxy, said the FDD analysts, citing in this regard the threat issued by Iran of closing the Strait of Gibraltar

The Polisario received kamikaze drones provided by Iran and Morocco’s representative to UN showed to international community images confirming that Iran and Hezbollah supplied Polisario with “advanced weapons, including Iranian drones, said the FDD experts.

In January 2025, Polisario posted videos of simulated attack on Morocco using drones. Furthermore, Algeria bankrolls the Polisario Front, arms it, issues passports to its members, and hosts its leadership in the Tindouf refugee camps near its border with Morocco, added the FDD analysis.

In November 2024, Polisario fired rockets at a festival commemorating Morocco’s 1975 “Green March”. Moroccan press reports said the “Polisario’s attack was launched from inside Algerian territory.”

With Iranian funding & training and Algerian support, Polisario targets civilians and security forces of Morocco, a key U.S. ally. It also maintains deep ties with jihadist networks across Africa that threaten U.S. interests and regional stability, said the U.S. Think-tank, citing in this regard Adnan Abu al-Walid al-Sahrawi, a notorious jihadist and former Islamic State emir in the Sahel, who held a senior position in Polisario. The terrorist was killed by French forces in Mali in 2021. His story shows that Tindouf has become a breeding ground for extremist militant organizations and a cross-border jihadist recruitment center for al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb and the Islamic State.

A Geneva-based NGO told the UN Human Rights Council that Polisario leaders deprive children of their basic rights to education and use them in military operations in blatant violation of internal law and conventions, said the FDD, urging the Trump administration to open U.S. consulate in Dakhla and list the Polisario as a foreign terrorist organization.