Iran may make headlines for its nuclear program and head-butting with Western governments, but the hard-line leadership in Tehran is also working hard to expand its influence in North Africa.
As so-called moderate states and US allies like Morocco, Egypt and Saudi Arabia seek to distance themselves from the Islamic Republic, Iran is cultivating new economic partnerships. Mauritania is just one of the developing countries currently drawn to the technological superiority and oil wealth of the one regional power that threw off the yoke of Western interference in 1979 and has flaunted its independence ever since.
But as Mauritania forges its first ever relations with the Islamic Republic, Morocco’s relations with Iran have come apart.
In March, the Moroccan government in Rabat severed relations with Tehran, citing offense over what it perceived as a slight to the sovereignty of Bahrain, an important Moroccan ally. The perceived insult — a mild diplomatic misstep that Bahrain and Iran cleared up by the next day — is generally understood as a cover to cut off Iran’s support for alleged Shiite proselytism in the overwhelmingly Sunni Morocco.
“Morocco cannot accept that proselytizing take place on its territory, directly or indirectly, or via so-called NGOs,” Moroccan Foreign Minister Taieb Fassi Fihri said of the break. Observers in both countries were caught off guard by the hostility of the move. The Iranian foreign ministry called the diplomatic break “a strange action” that would harm Islamic unity.
More-attain-Iran
March also marked the first time in 27 years that an Iranian Minister of Foreign Affairs paid an official visit to the sparsely-populated desert country of Mauritania. The poverty stricken Islamic nation is thought to have vast, unexploited oil reserves.
Mauritania has suffered numerous coups d’état since achieving independence from France in 1960. The most recent overthrow occurred last August when a military putsch headed by General Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz deposed the country’s first-ever democratically elected government. The African Union and European Union condemned the 2008 coup d’état, imposing sanctions amidst calls for a return to constitutional rule.
But General Abdel Aziz and his military-led High State Council have pursued their own agenda, notably closing the Israeli Embassy and expelling its ambassador in March. Mauritania terminated relations in the wake of the Israeli military offensive in Gaza, reducing the number of Arab countries that maintain full diplomatic ties with Israel from three to just two.
Weeks later, Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki and a high-level delegation traveled to Mauritania’s capital, Nouakchott, to discuss cooperation between the two countries. Praising the “courageousness” of the Mauritanian decision to sever diplomatic relations with Israel, Mottaki agreed to cooperate with Mauritania in the oil, health, energy, agriculture, trade and banking sectors, according to state-run Iranian press agency IRNA.
General Abdel Aziz considered the expansion of Mauritanian-Iranian cooperation a high priority for his government.
Lose one, gain another
Apart from the “an enemy of my enemy is my friend” logic of rewarding Mauritania for expelling the Israeli ambassador, Tehran was probably also motivated to seek new ties with Nouakchott by the setback in relations with Morocco. The strength of these tentative new links will be tested in the upcoming June presidential elections, where General Abdel Aziz will either legitimize his rule through electoral mandate or lose to a candidate with a different diplomatic agenda. Cooperation between Mauritania and Iran remains theoretical until the elections put a legitimate leader in place.
It is still unclear how far Morocco is willing to go with its “strange action,” as commercial relations with Iran (mainly trade in phosphates and oil) seem to be unaffected by the diplomatic break. On April 10, Morocco was still importing Iranian oil, according to Societe Anonyme Marocaine de l’Industrie du Raffinage (Samir), the main refinery operator in Morocco.
“We haven’t received any government instructions to stop buying oil from Iran, and shipments are proceeding as usual,” Samir chief executive officer Jamal Ba-Amer told reporters.
No wonder: Morocco relied on Iran for more than a fourth of its crude oil in 2008.
A spokesman for the Moroccan state-owned phosphate company, Office Cherifian des Phosphates (OCP), was unwilling to confirm if exports continue to Iran, a leading importer of Moroccan phosphates. Phosphates are a significant source of income for the kingdom, accounting for 12 percent of total exports. Considering that Moroccan phosphate exports fell by 77 percent in February due to a rise in international prices and the crunch of the financial crisis, it seems improbable that Morocco would shut out an important buyer like Iran.
Morocco’s decision to sever relations with Iran demonstrates that while Rabat may be ready to stand up for its political allies and Sunni fears of Shiite proselytism, Iran remains an indispensable economic partner. With a newfound ally in Mauritania, the Islamic Republic seems to have actually consolidated its position in the Maghreb, in spite of the rupture in diplomacy.
