Morocco: Government Cuts Ties With Iran With an Eye Toward Saudi Arabia

Morocco announced on May 1 that it is closing the Iranian Embassy in Rabat and recalling its own ambassador from Tehran. Morocco's foreign minister, Nasser Bourita, cited concerns that Iran is supplying weapons, particularly surface-to-air missile systems, to the Polisario Front in the Western Sahara via Iran-allied Hezbollah. But Morocco and Iran have had a rocky diplomatic history for years. In 2009, for example, their ties broke down over Iran's alleged involvement in stoking a Shiite rebellion in Bahrain, a Moroccan ally. At the time, Morocco also accused Iran of attempting to spread Shiite Islam in the kingdom....