Spanish report exonerates Morocco from espionage claims
The Spanish National Security Report 2023, has dismissed allegations of Moroccan espionage against the Spanish government. As reported by Middle East Online and agencies on the 22nd of March, the report has refuted past claims by Spanish media and political parties that Morocco has utilized the notorious Pegasus spyware against Spanish officials.
READ: Spain: Popular Party raises alarm over Moroccan strawberries
In 2022, after a leak from the Israeli Pegasus program, data revealed that the phones of over 200 Spanish officials had been compromised. Media, as well as political parties like the Popular Party (PP) and Vox, accused Morocco of being responsible, attributing Spanish President Sanches’s support for the Moroccan autonomy plan for Western Sahara to a potential hack of his phone by Moroccan intelligence services.
The Spanish government had strongly denied the allegations, with intelligence officials also testifying before a European parliament committee. The 2023 National Security Report has come to verify this denial, finding no Moroccan interference within Spain and suggesting a cooperative relationship between the two countries on security matters. Instead, its findings show Russian and Chinese involvement in Spain’s internal affairs.
READ: Rights group accuses Morocco and Spain of Melilla cover up
Amidst these revelations, the already strong security partnership between the two countries, as seen through joint anti-terrorism operations, is expected to be strengthened. Nevertheless, the close proximity between Morocco and Spain has often been the cause of tensions, especially regarding the Spanish enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla, which Morocco claims were part of the country before Spanish colonization. Despite this, after an agreement in 2023, in which Spain agreed to support the Moroccan plan for Western Sahara in exchange for respect for its enclaves’ sovereignty, relations have significantly improved.
The report also comes as Morocco and Spain are set to co-host, along with Portugal, the 2030 FIFA World Cup.
Middle East Online/ Agencies
