Rising U.S. Calls to Designate the “Polisario” as a Terrorist Organization Amid Accusations of Cooperation with Iran and Extremist Groups

ALDAR/

There is a growing wave of calls within conservative circles in the United States urging the American administration to adopt a firmer stance toward the Polisario Front by designating it as a terrorist organization, amid increasing accusations of its involvement in activities that threaten both regional and international security.

A report published by the conservative platform The Daily Signal shed light on what it described as the “dark record” of the Front, which is accused of using Iranian-made drones within the Tindouf camps and in buffer zones near the Moroccan border. The report also accused the Polisario of imposing tolls along smuggling routes used by extremist elements linked to the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara (EIGS) and Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM).

The report revisits a 1988 incident in which missiles fired by the Polisario downed two planes belonging to the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), resulting in the deaths of five American citizens. At the time, the U.S. administration did not take any official stance on the incident.

The report also highlights developments from 2020, when the Polisario unilaterally announced its withdrawal from the 1991 ceasefire agreement and began launching rocket attacks along Morocco’s security wall, openly threatening international organizations, foreign embassies, and airlines with direct targeting.

The article provides an analysis of the sources of support received by the Front, identifying four main pillars underpinning its operations:

•Political and financial backing from the Algerian military regime, which plays a central role in directing the Front and selecting its leadership.

•Military and logistical support from Iran, which has sent elements from Hezbollah to train Polisario fighters since the late 1970s.

•Close ties with Russia, which hosts Polisario representatives at international conferences funded by Moscow and organized by activists close to the Kremlin.

•Reliance on an illicit trans-Saharan economy, including drug and arms trafficking and revenue collection from terrorist groups.

The report states that the Tindouf camps have become a military and logistical hub for the Polisario, where weapons are stored, new technologies are tested, and ties are strengthened with extremist groups operating across the Sahel and Sahara.

In conclusion, conservative voices are calling for the application of U.S. Executive Order 13224, which allows for the freezing of assets belonging to individuals and entities involved in or supporting terrorism, and for imposing strict financial and travel restrictions on them. This call is seen as a move toward recognizing the Front as a security threat that must be addressed under U.S. counterterrorism laws.

These developments come at a time of growing international concern over escalating security threats in the Sahel region, amid calls for a reassessment of alliances and policies toward actors that may contribute to regional instability.