Polisario Front: US Senate urges terrorist designation
US Senator Ted Cruz who alleges that the Polisario Front must be designated a terrorist organisation (Getty Images)
A February 3rd US Senate hearing on counterterrorism efforts in North Africa and the Sahel region implicated the Polisario Front as having a role in destabilising the Sahel region through terrorist activities, according to the Moroccan government-friendly Yabiladi and agencies on February 4th.
Officials confirmed the Polisario Front’s links with groups that Washington designates as terrorist, including Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), and Hezbollah, which receives funding from Iran.
In June 2025, U.S. Congressman Joe Wilson introduced legislation to designate the Polisario Front as a Foreign Terrorist Organisation (FTO), which was perceived as supporting Morocco and its allies against destabilising activity linked to Iran, Hezbollah and Russia.
During the hearing, Senator Ted Cruz expressed concern about the Polisario Front, saying it was “a major gap in our counterterrorism strategy.”
He argued that the group could become an Iranian proxy, as the Houthis are in West Africa. He flagged the concern as threatening to regional stability and putting pressure on US allies.
Cruz also questioned other administration officials for refusing to directly address the Polisario Front as having links to terrorist organisations, while discussing the issues in North Africa and the Sahel.
He said, “I believe they should be designated as a terrorist group, and I’ve drafted a bill to do so if there is no change in their behaviour.”
The Senator alleges that Polisario receives drones from Iran’s Revolutionary Guard and transports weapons across the region to jihadist militant groups. He also highlighted that Polisario elements have received military training from Iran and weapons from Hezbollah.
In January, the U.S. government urged the Polisario Front to accept Moroccan sovereignty over the Western Sahara and rejected calls for an independence referendum.
Morocco’s campaign for Polisario’s designation as a terrorist group has been a recurring theme in diplomatic discussions, with officials hoping Washington will adopt that stance formally.
Algeria’s support for the Polisario Front, including its alleged ties to Hezbollah, also feeds concerns about links to terrorist and extremist actors in the larger Sahel security environment.
However, the Polisario Front has publicly denied that its fighters are involved in conflicts, such as the Syrian civil war, or tied to jihadist networks, rejecting attempts to frame them as terrorists and insisting their struggle is about Sahrawi self-determination.
While some analysts argue that the Polisario Front and its backers, such as Algeria and South Africa, undermine U.S. regional interests, as Washington has recognised Morocco’s sovereignty over Western Sahara to strengthen ties with Rabat, retain influence in Africa, and support Morocco’s normalisation with Israel.
Designating the Polisario as an FTO would advance U.S. interests by freezing its assets, cutting off smuggling and arms networks linked to Iran, Russia, and China, supporting Moroccan counterterrorism and autonomy efforts, and disrupting Iran’s proxy supply lines in Africa, thereby reinforcing regional stability and safeguarding U.S. strategic influence.
Yabiladi and agencies, Fes News, Arab Weekly, FPRI, Hudson Institute, Maghrebi.org
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