US Senator Calls to Label Polisario as Terrorists Citing Gibraltar Threat. US Senator Ted Cruz is urging for the Polisario Front to be classified as a terrorist organization. He links the movement to Iran and warns of risks to maritime navigation in Gibraltar. The issue is under discussion in the US Congress.
Pressure is mounting in the United States Congress to designate the Polisario Front as a terrorist organization. Republican Senator Ted Cruz has again highlighted close ties between the movement and the Iranian regime, emphasizing that such an alliance could threaten maritime security in the Strait of Gibraltar. According to him, Iran's interest in the region is explained by Morocco’s strategic location and proximity to Europe, which allows Tehran to expand its influence beyond North Africa.
Cruz believes that including the Polisario Front on the U.S. list of terrorist organizations would help protect international trade routes passing through Gibraltar. In an interview with Medi1 TV, he pointed out that Iran has repeatedly threatened shipping routes, and in December 2023, a commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps openly discussed the possibility of blocking the strait in support of Gaza. During the same period, Yemen’s Houthis, supported by Iran, attacked ships in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, raising concerns across the region.
Supporters of the initiative in Congress emphasize that in the Western Mediterranean, it is the Polisario that could become Iran’s key partner in advancing its interests. In 2017, militants from the movement published photos of boats supplied by Algeria for patrolling the Saharan coast. Experts noted the similarity of these vessels to the fast attack craft used by Iranian forces in the Strait of Hormuz. Additionally, in the late 1970s and 1980s, the Polisario had already carried out attacks on Spanish fishing and military vessels in the Atlantic.
In April, Cruz raised this issue at a hearing of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, where he stated that Iran is trying to implement in Africa the same model it used with the Houthis in Yemen, using the Polisario as a proxy structure. The senator’s latest statements came shortly after Democrat Marc Veasey joined the bill to designate the Polisario as terrorists. The document was introduced in June 2025 by Congressmen Joe Wilson and Jimmy Panetta.
Security issues in and around the Strait of Gibraltar are regularly discussed not only in the US but also in Spain, given the region's strategic importance for European trade and transportation. Amid new threats and instability in neighboring regions, the topic of maritime route control is becoming especially relevant. In comparison, in Catalonia, political disputes and allegations of corruption also influence the domestic agenda, as seen from the coverage of debates around the funding and operations of the authorities..
The Strait of Gibraltar is one of the world's most important maritime corridors, with up to 120,000 ships passing through each year. Any threats to stability in this area can affect the supply of goods to Europe and North Africa. The Polisario Front, a movement advocating for the independence of Western Sahara, is supported by Algeria and is in conflict with Morocco. In recent years, Iran has been actively expanding its influence in Africa, using various political and military instruments. The inclusion of Polisario in the US list of terrorist organizations could affect relations between Washington, Rabat, and Algiers, as well as the security of shipping off the coast of Spain.
