فاس نيوز ميديا جريدة الكترونية جهوية تعنى بشؤون و أخبار جهة فاس مكناس – متجددة على مدار الساعة
Rabat – November 25, 2025
The Polisario Front’s reception of a religious delegation belonging to Syrian-Lebanese circles close to Iran-backed Hezbollah has raised growing concerns about the deepening Iranian entrenchment in the Tindouf camps in southwestern Algeria. Despite attempts by Polisario leadership to present the visit as a spiritual academic meeting, the identities of members reveal a troubling political-ideological network, supported by Algeria and aligned with the Tehran-Beirut axis.
Sidi Ahmed Aliyat, the alleged official for “Religious Affairs and Original Education” in the so-called entity “Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic,” received a delegation from “Scholars of the Levant,” accompanied by Mustafa Al-Kitab, the Front’s representative in the Arab East. The delegation includes Lebanese and Syrian figures, including Sheikh Hadid Khalaf Al-Darwish, a Syrian tribal leader who openly supports Hezbollah and Iran.
Al-Darwish appeared at an official meeting in Lebanon in 2022 alongside Sheikh Ahmed Al-Qattan, where he praised Hezbollah’s military role in Syria and thanked Iran for its support of the former Syrian regime, saying: “We thank Mr. Hassan Nasrallah and the Islamic Resistance… We also do not forget to thank the Islamic Republic of Iran, which stood by the Syrian people and supported them.”
In this context, it is difficult to consider the visit merely a religious activity, as it represents an additional indicator of strategic convergence between Polisario and the Iranian-Lebanese axis, reflecting a gradual consolidation of an Iranian influence network in Tindouf. For years, Tehran has sought to penetrate the Sahel and Sahara region, finding in Polisario an ideal tool, similar to the Houthis in Yemen, Hezbollah in Lebanon, or militias linked to it in Iraq and Syria.
Recent diplomatic activities of Polisario in the Middle East, including receiving delegations close to the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, confirm that the Front has moved beyond its role as a simple separatist movement to become an additional link in Iran’s expansion strategy. In a report published by the German newspaper “Die Welt” in 2025, intelligence documents revealed direct links between the Front and Hezbollah, including intercepted calls between Mustafa Mohamed Lamin Al-Kitab – the Front’s representative in Syria – and a Hezbollah agent. American intelligence reports (AFRICOM, 2023-2024) also indicated the use of Tindouf camps as transit points for advanced Iranian weapons, including drones and surface-to-air missiles, directed toward extremist groups in the Sahel.
The ironic paradox lies in Algeria’s position – the main political, financial, and military supporter of Polisario – which recently voted in the Security Council in favor of a resolution condemning the Houthis (another Iranian ally in the Middle East) and extending sanctions on them, attempting to project an image of a “responsible and balanced state” internationally. However, Algerian journalist Walid Kabir – believed to be the same person as Anwar Malik, the Algerian journalist in exile – believes this support effectively opens “the door to an active Iranian presence in North Africa, while Algeria attempts to appear as opposing Tehran’s influence in other regional crises.”
Kabir/Malik adds: “This contradiction reveals the blatant duplicity of the Algerian authority’s position, which does not hesitate to allow the Iranian-Hezbollah axis to entrench itself in the region if it serves its strategy of weakening Morocco’s geopolitical stability.” He confirms that “the recent visit is not an isolated incident, but additional evidence of Polisario’s transformation into a tool in Iran’s expansion project, with Algeria’s blessing – directly or indirectly – in complete contradiction with its official discourse in the Security Council and its statements about combating terrorism.”
This development comes following the presentation of Anwar Malik’s book “Polisario-Iran: Secrets of Terrorism from Tehran to Tindouf” in Rabat in 2025, which reveals secret links between the Front and Iran and Hezbollah, supported by leaked documents from Syrian intelligence after the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime. The book is considered conclusive evidence that “Polisario is an Iranian terrorist organization par excellence,” according to the author, who details military training, weapons transfers, and money laundering through Hezbollah networks in Europe and Africa.
This visit reinforces growing international concerns about Polisario’s role as a “terrorist proxy,” as described by American and European reports, with repeated calls to classify the Front as a terrorist organization, especially after revealing its links to the Iranian Revolutionary Guard and extremist groups in the Sahel. In a tweet published by H24Info today, it confirmed that the visit “relaunches concern about the consolidation of Iranian influence in Tindouf.”
