UK pressed to explain links between Polisario and Iran
British Conservative Party MP Charlie Dewhirst has challenged the Labour government of Prime Minister Keir Starmer with two written questions, seeking clarification on potential links between the Polisario Front and Iran.
Dewhirst asked the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, Hamish Falconer, whether he had any information regarding the provision of military training and drone technology to the Polisario Front by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and Hezbollah. He also inquired about the potential impact of such alleged collaboration on British interests in North and West Africa.
In its written response, the government stated that it «does not have information to confirm the allegation of Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) or Hezbollah provision of military training and drone technology to the Polisario Front».
UK Government: No Confirmed Evidence
«We continue to support UN-led efforts to reach a just, lasting, and mutually acceptable political solution, based on compromise, which will provide for the self-determination of the people of Western Sahara», the government added.
MP Dewhirst also asked whether the government had recently discussed with regional allies Iran's alleged involvement in training Polisario militias and its broader strategy to destabilize the region.
In response, the government said: «The UK has not seen requisite evidence to raise concerns with allies regarding the allegation of Iranian involvement in training of Polisario Front. However, we continue to monitor Iranian activity in the region».
Hamish Falconer reiterated the UK's position, stating that the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office considers the Polisario Front an independence movement and a party to a conflict under UN review.
These questions follow recent calls by former British MP Liam Fox, a member of the Conservative Party, and Irish Senator Gerard Craughwell, an independent, to designate the Polisario Front as a terrorist organization under UK law.
In the United States, Republican Congressman Joe Wilson is leading a similar initiative. Both Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and Lebanon's Hezbollah, which serve the interests of the Iranian regime, are already designated as terrorist organizations by the U.S. government.
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