The United States has for the first time publicly acknowledged concerns over collusion between Iran and the Polisario Front, the separatist movement operating in Western Sahara. During a Senate hearing on counterterrorism in Africa, a senior State Department official, Monica Ager Jacobsen, confirmed that the region where the Polisario holds sway sits adjacent to trafficking routes and militant activity in the Sahel, creating vulnerabilities that external actors, including Tehran, could exploit. Her remarks lent official weight to earlier accusations by Republican Senator Ted Cruz, who told the same subcommittee that Iran is arming the Polisario with drones supplied by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and seeking to transform the group into a regional proxy reminiscent of the Houthis in Yemen. Cruz has introduced legislation that would compel the administration to designate the Polisario a terrorist organisation if evidence of such cooperation is confirmed.

Viewed from Washington, this is not an isolated concern. The broader backdrop is a pronounced shift in the global centre of gravity for terrorism, which Cruz described as having moved decisively towards Africa. The Sahel, West Africa and parts of East Africa are now theatres for a proliferation of armed groups, from jihadist franchises to local militias, while state capacity erodes. Analysts in London note that this security vacuum is being filled not only by Iran but also by Russia, whose growing military and political footprint in West Africa — through the Wagner successor groups and bilateral deals — adds another layer of complexity. The convergence of Iranian and Russian ambitions in a region already straining under the weight of insurgency risks turning the Sahel into a proxy battleground for extra-regional powers.

The Polisario Front, long recognised by the African Union but not by the United Nations as a legitimate liberation movement, has historically been a secondary concern for Western counterterrorism planners. That calculus is now changing. The group’s camps in the Tindouf region of Algeria, its control over large swaths of the Western Sahara buffer zone, and its reported willingness to act as a conduit for weapons and resources to extremist networks all make it a potential node in Iran’s strategy of asymmetric pressure. The irony is not lost on diplomats in Rabat, who have long warned that the Polisario’s impunity would eventually attract malign actors. Morocco, which administers most of Western Sahara, sees the latest US statements as vindication of its position that the separatist front is not merely a political nuisance but a genuine security threat.

What happens next depends on the interplay between congressional pressure and executive caution. Designating the Polisario as a terrorist organisation would have far-reaching consequences: it would freeze any remaining diplomatic openings, complicate humanitarian aid to Sahrawi refugees, and almost certainly inflame tensions with Algeria, which hosts and supports the movement. Yet the intelligence that has surfaced, combined with the administration’s own public acknowledgement of risk, suggests that inaction is no longer tenable. The most likely outcome is a phased escalation — targeted sanctions on Polisario commanders linked to Iranian supply lines, followed by a formal review that could lead to designation. For now, the Sahel’s security trajectory hinges on whether Washington can calibrate its response to neutralise Iranian penetration without triggering a wider regional conflagration.