Rabat – US Representative Tim Moore joined a congressional bill, urging the US administration to designate Polisario as a terrorist group.
Moore joined the list as a co-sponsor for a bill introduced by Joe Wilson on Monday.
The bill, the Polisario Front Terrorist Designation Act, warned about the threats posed by the separatist group, citing collusion with the Iranian proxy Hezbollah.
“The Polisario Front has a documented history of ideological and operational ties with Iran, a state sponsor of terrorism, dating back at least to 1980, when Polisario fighters publicly posed with portraits of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini in a bid to attract revolutionary credibility and Iranian patronage,” the bill reads.
Many other representatives have also been backing another bill introduced by Senator Ted Cruz, calling on Trump’s administration to investigate Polisario’s collusion with Iran and to designate the separatist group as terrorists.
In recent remarks during a hearing earlier this month, Cruz reiterated his concerns over Iran’s outreach policy in Africa and its collusion with different groups to destabilize the region.
“In the Western Sahara, Iran is actively working to turn the Polisario Front into the Houthis for West Africa. The Polisario Front works with the Iranian terrorist groups. It takes drones from the IRGC. It moves weapons and resources around the region, including to jihadists, and much more,” Cruz maintained.
The US Senior Bureau Official for the Bureau of Counterterrorism said the US is monitoring the situation and is tracking the situation regarding Polisario’s collusion with Iranian proxy Hezbollah.
“What I can say with confidence in an open hearing is that the region where the Polisario Front operates sits near trafficking and militant activity in the Sahel and that this creates vulnerabilities that external actors, including Iran, could seek to exploit,” the US official said.