Morocco has announced it will cut diplomatic ties with Iran over Tehran's support for the Polisario Front, a Western Saharan independence movement.

Morocco's foreign ministry said on Tuesday it will close its embassy in Tehran and expel the Iranian ambassador in Rabat over Iran's support for Polisario.

Rabat accuses Tehran and Lebanese proxy Hezbollah of training and arming Polisario Front fighters.

Morocco's foreign affairs minister, Nasser Bourita, told Al Jazeera that Rabat has evidence that incriminates the Iranian government, which assisted Hezbollah in providing financial as well as logistical support to Polisario through its embassy in Algiers.

Bourita said he presented the evidence to his Iranian counterpart earlier in the day in Tehran, which included documentation of arms deliveries made to the rebel group.

"This month Hezbollah sent [surface-to-air] SAM9, SAM11 and Strela missiles to the Polisario with the connivance of Iran's embassy in Algiers," he told reporters.

"Morocco was left without a choice but to act and cut diplomatic ties and close its embassy in Tehran."

Bourita said he had just returned from Iran after informing it of Morocco's decision to sever relations. Rabat's ambassador has already returned home and Iran's charge d'affaires was expelled on Tuesday with immediate effect, he said.

'American pressure'

There was no immediate Iranian reaction to the Moroccan move or accusation. Iran has backed Polisario in the past.

Hezbollah denied in a statement it was training and arming Polisario and said Morocco had taken its decision under "American, Israeli and Saudi pressure".

The Western Sahara region is split by an earthen wall where territory east of structure falls under the Algerian-backed Polisario Front.

Spain relinquished control of the territory in 1975 that was subsequently claimed by Mauritania, Morocco and Polisario.

Mauritania, however, withdrew its claim to the territory and proceeded to recognise the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic in 1984.

UN efforts have repeatedly failed to broker a settlement over the disputed territory that Polisario says belongs to the Sahrawi people.

Morocco, which controls 90 percent of the territory including its three main towns, insists it is an integral part of the kingdom and only semi-autonomy is on the table. Polisario demands a referendum on self-determination be held.

In 2009, Rabat broke diplomatic links with Tehran after an adviser to Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Iran had sovereign rights over Bahrain.

Morocco's foreign ministry also accused Iran at the time of attempting to spread Shia Islam in the predominantly Sunni kingdom.</s>Morocco has severed diplomatic ties with Iran over Tehran's alleged support for the Polisario Front, a Western Sahara independence movement.

Moroccan Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita on May 1 accused Iran and its Lebanese Shi'ite ally, Hizballah, of training and arming Polisario fighters with surface-to-air missiles through the Iranian embassy in Algeria since 2016.

Bourita said he just returned from Iran, where he personally informed his Iranian counterpart of the decision to end ties. Morocco's ambassador already has departed Tehran, while the Iranian Embassy in Morocco will be closed "immediately," he said.

There was no immediate reaction from Iran, which has backed Polisario in the past.

Bourita said Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif was "in shock" after their discussion.

Hizballah issued a statement denying that it armed Polisario and accusing Morocco of acting under "pressure" from the United States, Israel, and Saudi Arabia.

The Western Sahara is a former Spanish colony that Morocco annexed in 1975. Polisario fought a guerrilla war for independence until a United Nations-backed cease-fire was established in 1991.

Algeria, Morocco's neighbor, hosts camps for people displaced by the conflict, including members of Polisario, but denies giving military aid to the group.

The Western Sahara has effectively been split by an earthen wall separating territory controlled by Polisario and an area controlled by Morocco. There is a UN-mandated buffer zone between them, and UN peacekeepers patrol the region.

Morocco also cut diplomatic ties with Shi'a-led Iran in 2009 after accusing it of undermining Sunni rule in Bahrain, a Gulf Arab island that has a majority Shi'ite population.

Diplomatic relations were restored in 2014, but they were never strong. Rabat enjoys close ties with Tehran's regional rival, Sunni-ruled Saudi Arabia.

Based on reporting by AP and Reuters</s>Morocco has cut diplomatic ties with Iran over its alleged involvement in the delivery of weapons from its Lebanese ally Hezbollah to the Polisario Front, Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita said Tuesday.

Bourita said "a first shipment of weapons was recently" sent to the Algerian-backed Polisario Front, which is seeking independence, via an "element" at the Iranian embassy in Algiers.

"Morocco has irrefutable proof, names and specific actions to corroborate the complicity between the Polisario and Hezbollah," he told reporters.

The decision to sever ties with Tehran is "in response to Iran's involvement, through Hezbollah, in allying itself with the Polisario over the past two years in order to target the security and higher interests of Morocco".

Bourita was speaking upon his return from Tehran, where he said he informed his Iranian counterpart Mohammad Javad Zarif about Morocco's decision.

The foreign minister said he departed Tehran along with Morocco's ambassador to Iran.

"I will ask the Iranian embassy's charge d'affaires to leave the kingdom as soon as possible," Bourita added.

Morocco and Iran have had strained relations and severed diplomatic ties in the past, the last time in 2009 when Rabat cut ties with Tehran but they were restored at the end of 2014.

According to Bourita, Iran and Hezbollah have had ties with the Polisario Front since 2016 when the Lebanese Shiite militant group set up a committee to support the Polisario.

After that, he said, a Hezbollah military delegation visited the Polisario Front in the Tindouf area in southwest Algeria.

The Polisario and Morocco fought for control of Western Sahara from 1975 to 1991, with Rabat taking over the desert territory before a U.N.-brokered ceasefire in the former Spanish colony.

Rabat considers Western Sahara an integral part of Morocco and proposes autonomy for the resource-rich territory, but the Polisario Front insists on a U.N. referendum on independence.

On Friday the U.N. Security Council backed a U.S.-drafted resolution that urges Morocco and the Polisario Front to prepare for talks on settling the decades-old conflict.

It also renewed for six months the mandate of a U.N. mission that has been monitoring the ceasefire in Western Sahara since 1991.

Diplomatic efforts to end the conflict have been deadlocked since the last round of U.N.-sponsored talks in 2008.

Morocco maintains that negotiations on a settlement should focus on its proposal for autonomy for Western Sahara and rejects the Polisario's insistence on an independence referendum.</s>Morocco has cut diplomatic ties with Iran over its alleged involvement in the delivery of weapons from its Lebanese ally Hezbollah to the Polisario Front, Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita said Tuesday.

He told reporters that “a first shipment of weapons was recently” sent to the Algerian-backed Polisario Front, which is seeking independence, via an “element” at the Iranian embassy in Algiers.

Bourita was speaking upon his return from Tehran, where he said he informed his Iranian counterpart Mohammad Javad Zarif about Morocco’s decision.

The Polisario and Morocco fought for control of Western Sahara from 1975 to 1991, with Rabat taking over the desert territory before a UN-brokered ceasefire in the former Spanish colony.

Rabat considers Western Sahara an integral part of Morocco and proposes autonomy for the resource-rich territory, but the Polisario Front insists on a UN referendum on independence.

On Friday the UN Security Council backed a US-drafted resolution that urges Morocco and the Polisario Front to prepare for talks on settling the decades-old conflict.

It also renewed for six months the mandate of a UN mission that has been monitoring the ceasefire in Western Sahara since 1991.

Diplomatic efforts to end the conflict have been deadlocked since the last round of UN-sponsored talks in 2008.

Morocco maintains that negotiations on a settlement should focus on its proposal for autonomy for Western Sahara and rejects the Polisario’s insistence on an independence referendum.</s>RABAT (REUTERS) - Morocco will sever diplomatic ties with Iran over Teheran's support for the Polisario Front, a Western Sahara independence movement, the Moroccan foreign minister said on Tuesday (May 1).

Morocco claimed Western Sahara after colonial Spain left, but Polisario fought a guerilla war for independence for the Sahrawi people until a UN-backed ceasefire.

Morocco will close its embassy in Teheran and will expel the Iranian ambassador in Rabat, Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita told reporters.

He said that Iran and its Lebanese Shi'ite ally, Hezbollah, were supporting Polisario by training and arming its fighters, via the Iranian embassy in Algeria.

"Hezbollah sent military officials to Polisario and provided the front with ... weapons and trained them on urban warfare,"Bourita said.

Algeria, Morocco's neighbour, hosts camps of displaced from the conflict region and Polisario members. It was not immediately possible to get Iranian reaction to the Moroccan accusation. Iran has backed Polisario in the past.

The Western Sahara region has effectively been split by an earthen wall separating an area controlled by Morocco that it claims as its southern provinces and territory controlled by the Polisario, with a UN-mandated buffer zone between them.

In 2009, Morocco cut diplomatic links with Iran, accusing it of questioning Sunni rule of Bahrain, a Gulf Arab island that has a Shi'ite majority. Ties were gradually restored around 2014, but they were never strong, with Rabat backing Teheran's arch-rival, Saudi Arabia.</s>"Morocco will break off diplomatic ties with Iran over its support to Polisario," Bourita told the Sky News Arabia channel.

The Moroccan Foreign Ministry issued a statement, saying that the key reason for termination of its relations with Iran would be the military support of the Polisario Front by the Lebanese Shiite movement Hezbollah.

Morocco claimed control of most of the Western Sahara after the end of Spanish colonial administration of the territory in 1976. Fighting later broke out between Morocco and the Polisario Front rebel movement, ending in signing a ceasefire in September 1991. The UN Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara was deployed in the same year in an attempt to achieve lasting and mutually acceptable solution that would provide for self-determination of Western Saharan people.

"The Moroccan accusations of Iran and Lebanese Hezbollah are absolutely false," Rashid said.

Rashid said that the relations between "Polisario Front and Hezbollah are not bad, but they have not reached the level of coordination in the field of military training," adding that Polisario Front does not need to ask "Hezbollah for such support."</s>Morocco has severed diplomatic ties with Iran over Tehran’s support for the Polisario Front, a Western Sahara independence movement, the Moroccan foreign minister said on Tuesday.

Morocco has claimed Western Sahara since colonial power Spain left in 1975. But Polisario fought a guerrilla war for independence for the Sahrawi people until a United Nations-backed ceasefire in 1991, monitored by U.N. peacekeepers.

Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita accused Iran and its Lebanese Shi’ite ally, Hezbollah, of training and arming Polisario fighters via the Iranian embassy in Algeria.

“This month Hezbollah sent (surface-to-air) SAM9, SAM11 and Strela missiles to the Polisario with the connivance of Iran’s embassy in Algiers,” he told reporters.

There was no immediate Iranian reaction to the Moroccan move or accusation. Iran has backed Polisario in the past.

Hezbollah denied in a statement that it was training and arming Polisario and said Morocco had taken its decision under “American, Israeli and Saudi pressure”.

Algeria, Morocco’s neighbour, hosts camps for people displaced by the conflict region and Polisario members but denies giving military aid to the group.

Bourita said he had just returned from Iran after informing it of Morocco’s decision to sever relations. Rabat’s ambassador has already returned home and Iran’s charge d’affaires will be expelled on Tuesday with immediate effect, he said.

The Western Sahara region has effectively been split by an earthen wall separating an area controlled by Morocco that it claims as its southern provinces and territory controlled by the Polisario, with a U.N.-mandated buffer zone between them.

Morocco also cut diplomatic ties with Shi’ite Iran in 2009 after accusing it of questioning Sunni rule in Bahrain, a Gulf Arab island that has a Shi’ite majority.

Diplomatic relations were restored in 2014, but they were never strong, with Rabat enjoying close ties with Tehran’s regional rival, Sunni-ruled Saudi Arabia.</s>Morocco on Tuesday cut diplomatic ties with Iran, accusing the Islamic republic of using its ally Hizbullah to deliver weapons to the separatist Polisario Front in Western Sahara.

Moroccan Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita said the decision had nothing to do with "current regional or international developments", referring to rising tensions between Saudi Arabia and its allies on one side and Shiite Iran its camp on the other.

The Lebanese Hizbullah quickly rejected Rabat's accusations, blaming the decision on foreign "pressure".

At a press conference in Rabat, Bourita said "a first shipment of weapons was recently" sent to the Algerian-backed Polisario Front, which is seeking independence, via an "element" at the Iranian embassy in Algiers.

"Morocco has irrefutable proof, names and specific actions to corroborate the complicity between the Polisario and Hizbullah," he told reporters.

The decision to sever ties with Tehran is "in response to Iran's involvement, through Hizbullah, in allying itself with the Polisario over the past two years in order to target the security and higher interests of Morocco".

Bourita was speaking upon his return from Tehran, where he said he informed his Iranian counterpart Mohammad Javad Zarif about Morocco's decision.

The foreign minister said he departed Tehran along with Morocco's ambassador to Iran.

"I will ask the Iranian embassy's charge d'affaires to leave the kingdom as soon as possible," Bourita added.

- 'False accusations' -Morocco and Iran have had strained relations and severed diplomatic ties in the past, the last time in 2009 when Rabat cut ties with Tehran but they were restored at the end of 2014.

According to Bourita, Iran and Hizbullah have had ties with the Polisario Front since 2016, when the Lebanese Shiite group set up a committee to support the Polisario.

After that, he said, a Hizbullah military delegation visited the Polisario Front in the Tindouf area in southwest Algeria.

Washington, Riyadh and Israel have frequently condemned Iranian interference in the Middle East.

Iran and Saudi Arabia broke off diplomatic relations in January 2016 and are engaged in a regional power struggle.

Both countries support opposing camps in Syria, Yemen and Lebanon.

The Polisario and Morocco fought for control of Western Sahara from 1975 to 1991, with Rabat taking over the desert territory before a UN-brokered ceasefire in the former Spanish colony.

Rabat considers Western Sahara an integral part of Morocco and proposes autonomy for the resource-rich territory, but the Polisario Front insists on a UN referendum on independence.

On Friday the UN Security Council backed a US-drafted resolution that urges Morocco and the Polisario Front to prepare for talks on settling the decades-old conflict.

It also renewed for six months the mandate of a UN mission that has been monitoring the ceasefire in Western Sahara since 1991.

Diplomatic efforts to end the conflict have been deadlocked since the last round of UN-sponsored talks in 2008.

Morocco maintains that negotiations on a settlement should focus on its proposal for autonomy for Western Sahara and rejects the Polisario's insistence on an independence referendum.</s>TEHRAN, Iran (AP) - Iran has denied supporting the Polisario Front in the disputed Western Sahara a day after Morocco severed ties with Tehran in protest.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Bahram Ghasemi was quoted by local media on Wednesday as saying the accusations are "completely baseless" and that Iran respects the sovereignty of all countries.

Moroccan Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita said Tuesday that his government had proof that the Lebanese Hezbollah group, which is supported by Iran, has been providing training and financial support to Polisario independence fighters since 2016. He says Hezbollah sent its first supply of weaponry to the Polisario last month, prompting Morocco's decision to cut ties. Hezbollah denied the allegations.

A street sign is posted at the entrance of the embassy of Iran in Rabat, Morocco, Tuesday, May 1, 2018. Morocco will sever diplomatic ties with Iran over Tehran's support for the Polisario Front, a Western Sahara independence movement, the Moroccan foreign minister said on Tuesday. (AP Photo/Mosa'ab Elshamy)

Iran backs armed groups across the Middle East, including many viewed as terrorist organizations by Western and Arab countries.

A view of the embassy of Iran in Rabat, Morocco, Tuesday, May 1, 2018. Morocco will sever diplomatic ties with Iran over Tehran's support for the Polisario Front, a Western Sahara independence movement, the Moroccan foreign minister said on Tuesday. (AP Photo/Mosa'ab Elshamy)</s>RABAT, Morocco (AP) - Morocco severed relations with Iran Tuesday, accusing the Mideast country of providing funds, training and weapons to Polisario Front independence fighters in the disputed Western Sahara.

Moroccan Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita said he spoke with his Iranian counterpart to officially end ties between the two countries. Morocco's ambassador already has departed Tehran, while the Iranian Embassy in Morocco will be closed "immediately," Bourita told reporters in Rabat.

He said Morocco obtained and verified proof that Iran-backed Lebanese militant movement Hezbollah has provided training and financial support to Polisario fighters since 2016. Last month, Hezbollah allegedly sent its first supply of weaponry to the Polisario, prompting Morocco's decision to cut ties, Bourita said.

Iran's government did not respond publicly to the diplomatic decision Tuesday.

Hezbollah called the allegation that it supported and trained the Polisario movement baseless. The group issued a statement admonishing Morocco for yielding to what it described as American, Israeli, and Saudi pressure.

Morocco's decision to cut official ties comes amid other diplomatic tensions. Israel's prime minister alleged Monday that Iranian leaders covered up a nuclear weapons program before signing a deal with world powers to limit Iran's nuclear activity in 2015.

Bourita said Morocco's move "has nothing to do with Iran's nuclear activities."

Morocco is sensitive about perceived threats to the Western Sahara, a former Spanish colony that Morocco annexed in 1975. Morocco fought Polisario fighters until a U.N.-brokered cease-fire in 1991. U.N. peacekeepers still monitor the region, where tensions recently flared.

"I've had a long discussion with Iran's foreign affairs minister to present him all the reasons that induced this decision. I have showed him the dates, locations of meetings and the names involved," Bourita said.

He said Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif was "in shock" after their discussion.

Bourita said the evidence Morocco has showed top officials from Hezbollah and Polisario met repeatedly in Sahrawi refugee camps in Algeria through the mediation of an Iranian diplomat.

The collaboration between Polisario and Hezbollah intensified after Moroccan authorities last year arrested Lebanese businessman Kassim Tajeddine, who has been accused of money laundering and financing Hezbollah, the foreign minister said.

Morocco-Iran relations were only recently restored after years of dispute over Morocco's support of Sunni-ruled Bahrain. Bourita insisted religious differences with Shiite-led Iran did not drive Tuesday's action.

Phillip Issa in Beirut contributed to this report.
Morocco cuts diplomatic ties with Iran over its support for the Polisario Front, a Western Saharan independence movement.