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Moroccans Protest US Ship Carrying Israeli-Bound Weapons in Tangier

mahla — Tue, 12 Nov 2024 21:54:31 +0000

TEHRAN (Iran News) Protesters in Tangier’s port chanted, “Whoever welcomes Israel’s ships is not one of us,” denouncing the arrival of the vessel, the Maersk Denver, which docked on Saturday. The vessel initially attempted to dock in Spain, but Spain denied entry, with its foreign ministry affirming that it had not and would not grant docking permits to the ship.

The shipping line Maersk, which operates the vessel, denied that the cargo includes “any military weapons or ammunition.”

Morocco’s National Secretariat of the Moroccan Front in Support of Palestine, a pro-Palestinian organization, stated that Moroccan authorities disregarded multiple appeals to refuse the ship’s entry. The group asserted that the Maersk Denver would transfer its cargo to another vessel, which would proceed to the Israeli port of Haifa.

“This ship, loaded with weapons shipments, will unload its cargo onto another ship, which will then continue its journey towards the port of the occupied city of Haifa,” the secretariat said.

The group further criticized Moroccan authorities, claiming this was the second time Rabat had allowed a vessel with alleged military ties to Israel to dock, following the arrival of the Israeli army’s INS Komemiyut in a previous instance.

The secretariat condemned Morocco’s actions as “a shameful decision,” accusing authorities of “colluding with the US, the source of these weapons, and with the Zionist enemy army.”

The protest follows more than a year of intensifying hostilities that have claimed the lives of over 43,600 Palestinians, primarily women and children, since October 7, 2023, amid an ongoing Israeli war in Gaza. Additionally, the increased Israeli attacks on Lebanon have resulted in the deaths of at least 3,136 Lebanese people.

Human rights and civil groups argue that Rabat’s cooperation disregards the will of the Moroccan people, undermines relevant UN resolutions, and may constitute complicity in genocide.

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) and other rights organizations have repeatedly called for a military embargo on Israel in response to the ongoing violence. By potentially aiding in the provision of weapons, Morocco’s decision may violate an ICJ ruling and the Genocide Convention, UN Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese stated earlier this year.

In a letter to the UN General Assembly, Morocco had previously joined over 50 nations demanding immediate action to halt arms supplies to Israel.

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Iran Wary of Morocco Threat in 2024 Futsal World Cup Last 16

mahla — Wed, 25 Sep 2024 18:32:02 +0000

TEHRAN (Iran News) At stake for the winner will be a mouth-watering clash with Brazil in the quarter-finals, with the five-time champion having booked its last eight ticket with a 5-0 defeat of Costa Rica on Tuesday.

Iran, seeking to better its bronze medal finish of 2016, enjoyed serene passage to the knockout stage by topping Group F.

Having opened its campaign with a 7-1 defeat of Venezuela, the 13-time AFC Futsal Asian Cup winner followed that up with wins over Guatemala (9-4) and France (4-1).

Salar Aghapour has led the team’s challenge, with the midfielder having already netted six goals at Uzbekistan 2024 while the likes of Mahdi Karimi and Moslem Oladghobad have also played pivotal roles in Iran’s bid for a first ever world title.

Morocco progressed to the knockout stage as the Group E runner-up, its 4-1 defeat to defending champion Portugal costing them top spot.

While Iran will be confident of advancing, it knows the threat Morocco pose with the African side’s world ranking of six just two behind the Asian champion.

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Iran to Play Morocco in 2024 Futsal World Cup Round of 16

mahla — Mon, 23 Sep 2024 21:25:53 +0000

TEHRAN (Iran News) Bronze medalists in 2016, Iran will face Morocco in the Round of 16, with the North African side having finished second in Group E.

Both teams had already secured their spots in the Round of 16 after victories over Guatemala and Venezuela.

Iran ended the deadlock in the 25th minute after Salar Aghapour broke into the area from the left before slipping the ball into the back of the net from an acute angle past a rooted Garros.

Iran’s second goal came in the 28th minute after Garros denied Aghapour’s effort from distance, only to concede moments later after Moslem Oladghobad found space on the left to fire a low drive into the back of the net.

Rafieipour put Iran 3-0 up three minutes later from a powerful low shot from distance, as the goals kept pouring in with Aghapour netting his second in the 37th minute with a long range effort.

France pulled one back after the restart, benefitting from a power play move with Mamadou Toure converting from distance but it was already a case of job done for Iran by then.

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Iran dismisses Morocco’s baseless accusations at AIPAC

mahla — Sat, 08 May 2021 12:57:42 +0000

TEHRAN (Iran News) – The Iranian Foreign Ministry has rejected baseless accusations by the Moroccan government that Iran carries out destabilizing activities in North and West Africa.
Moroccan Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita made the unfounded allegations against Tehran during the annual America Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) conference he participated in via video link on Thursday.

He also hailed US-brokered normalization agreements between Tel Aviv and some Arab states and expressed Rabat’s satisfaction with the pacts.

On Saturday, Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh said in a statement, “Due to its inability to solve its regional problems, the Moroccan government, while supporting the criminal Zionist regime, has once again repeated its false and baseless accusations against the Islamic Republic of Iran.”

“It is regrettable that the Moroccan government as the current chair of the al-Quds Committee [of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC)], at a time that the Islamic world needs unity more than ever, is diverting attentions from the Islamic world’s main issue, which is confronting encroachment on the al-Aqsa Mosque and defending the rights of Palestinians,” he added.

Tensions have increased in the occupied West Bank during the holy fasting month of Ramadan, with nightly clashes in East Jerusalem al-Quds’ Sheikh Jarrah, which sits near the Old City’s Damascus gate.

Numerous families face eviction in the Palestinian neighborhood due to illegal settlement expansion policies of the occupying regime.

On Friday, scuffles broke out near Sheikh Jarrah as Israeli forces used water cannon mounted on armored vehicles to disperse protesters.

Following the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Bahrain, and Sudan, Morocco became the fourth Arab country late last year to reach a normalization agreement with Israel, which was brokered by the administration of former US president Donald Trump during its final days in office.

The Palestinian resistance groups called on Moroccans and all other Arab nations to make a massive protest movement to reject the compromise and expose the scandal of the compromisers.

The provocative normalization agreements between Israel and the four Arab countries have already sparked outrage among the Palestinians who view the agreements as stabs on their back and a betrayal of their cause.

Morocco recalls ambassador to Germany over Western Sahara

The Moroccan government recalled on Thursday its ambassador to Berlin for consultation, amid tensions with Germany regarding Morocco’s Western Sahara regional conflict with the pro-independence Polisario Front.

“Germany has accumulated hostile stances that violate the high interests of the Kingdom,” the Moroccan Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

The ministry said that Germany has a negative position toward the Moroccan Sahara cause following the US recognition of Morocco’s sovereignty on the Sahara region.

Morocco annexed the vast Western Sahara region, a former Spanish colony, in 1975 and has ever since been in conflict with the Algeria-backed Polisario Front, a movement that seeks to establish an independent state in the territory and end Morocco’s presence there.

The West African Arab country is currently in control of 80 percent of the region, including its phosphate deposits and fishing waters.

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Biden to uphold Western Sahara recognition for sake of Israel

mahla — Sun, 02 May 2021 11:31:45 +0000

TEHRAN (Iran News) – US President Joe Biden has reportedly decided to uphold the Trump administration’s controversial decision to recognize Morocco’s alleged sovereignty over Western Sahara.

The recognition came as part of a deal with the despotic North African country to normalize relations with the Israeli regime.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken informed Moroccan Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita during a Friday phone call that the Biden administration would not, “for the time being,” reverse his predecessor’s pro-Israeli move in the waning days of his presidency, US-based Axios news website reported, citing “two sources familiar with the call.”

“The secretary welcomed Morocco’s steps to improve relations with Israel and noted the Morocco-Israel relationship will bring long-term benefits for both countries,” according to a readout of the call released by the State Department.

Responding to inquires about the issue during a Friday press briefing, State Department deputy spokesperson Jaline Porter tried to dodge the issue.

“When it comes to Western Sahara, we are consulting privately with parties on how to best halt the violence there… We would also talk about having the goal to achieve a lasting settlement,” she said.

Trump’s recognition of Western Sahara as part of Morocco reversed decades of Washington’s policy regarding the disputed territory. It was part of a wider agreement with Rabat’s ruler that included the renewal of diplomatic ties between the Israeli and the Moroccan regimes that triggered massive protests in Palestine and Morocco.

The US thus became the only Western country to recognize Morocco’s alleged sovereignty over Western Sahara, which was annexed by the Rabat regime in 1975 after the former colonial government of Spain surrendered control.

The report further revealed that 10 days ago Biden’s Middle East advisor Brett McGurk “spoke to Bourita and gave the impression that there would be no change in the US policy on Western Sahara.”

It report said both Morocco and Israel had become concerned that the Biden administration may reverse Trump’s contentious decision, solely intended to press more Arab dictatorships to recognize Israel.

Last December, Morocco became the fourth US-backed Arab kingdom to strike a deal aimed at establishing ties with Israel. The others were the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Sudan.

The move sparked protests across the North African country, opposing the deal and expressing solidarity with the Palestinian cause while condemning the Israeli regime’s persisting atrocities against Palestine’s native population.

Later, Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu invited Morocco’s King Mohammed VI to Tel Aviv in a “warm and friendly” phone conversation, agreeing to continue contacts in order to advance the normalization agreement.

Trump’s controversial decision, which contradicts UN resolutions on the issue, has been challenged by US lawmakers.

In February, half the US Senate signed a bipartisan letter led by Republican Jim Inhofe and senior Democrat Patrick Leahy calling on Biden to reverse Trump’s “illegitimate” decision.

“The abrupt decision by the previous administration on December 11, 2020, to officially recognize the Kingdom of Morocco’s illegitimate claims of sovereignty over Western Sahara was short-sighted, undermined decades of consistent US policy, and alienated a significant number of African nations,” the senators wrote.

“The Sahrawi people deserve the right to freely choose their own destiny. We hope that we can count on you to be a partner in this effort,” they added.

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Morocco establish full relations

reporter 1222 — Sat, 12 Dec 2020 08:32:20 +0000

TEHRAN (Iran News) – “Morocco announced its readiness to establish full relations with Israel 42 years ago during the reign of King Hassan II, following the infamous Camp David peace treaty between Egypt and Israel regime,” said Ali Akbar Velayati in a message issued on Friday.

“Two years after when the Zionist regime reached an agreement with the Palestine Liberation Organization, Morocco re-established full relations with the regime in 1995,” he added, saying, “It was forced to cut ties with the occupying regime in Quds after the beginning of the great Palestinian resistance intifada in 2000.”

“Unfortunately, over the past decades, Morocco has hosted several regime leaders, such as Isaac Robin and Shimon Peres, and has openly and covertly established close ties. Meanwhile, the Moroccan government did not restrict Israeli flights to Morocco, and tens of thousands of Israelis traveled to Morocco each year, so the recent normalization of Morocco’s relations with the Zionists is not a new issue,” Velayati highlighted.

He said, “The new point in announcing the normalization and establishment of a new relationship is, in fact, the deal that took place between the triangle of the United States, Morocco, and the Zionist regime. In this deal, in the face of Morocco’s betrayal of Islam and the Palestinian cause, the United States recognized Morocco’s sovereignty over the Arabian Desert.”

“The World Assembly of Islamic Awakening condemns these betrayals by the Kingdom of Morocco, UAE, Bahrain, and Sudan and emphasizes that all leaders, personalities, elites, scholars, thinkers, intellectuals, academics of the Islamic world should condemn the recognition of this regime and confront this betrayal with political, social, media measures, as well as imposing sanctions on Israeli-made goods as the action of Morocco and some other reactionary countries is a betrayal of the Islamic world and the cause of Palestine,” he stressed.

On Thursday, Morocco became the fourth Arab country since August to strike a deal aimed at normalizing relations with the Israeli regime. The others were the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, and Sudan.

As part of the agreement, US President Donald Trump agreed to recognize Morocco’s sovereignty over the Western Sahara, where there has been a decades-old territorial dispute with Morocco pitted against the Algeria-backed Polisario Front, a breakaway movement that seeks to establish an independent state in the territory.

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Morocco Arrests over 4300 for Breaching Emergency Rules

reporter 1222 — Mon, 13 Apr 2020 15:07:07 +0000

Morocco Arrests over 4300 for Breaching Emergency Rules

According To Iran News, More than 4,300 people were arrested over the weekend in Morocco for breaching emergency rules in place to combat the novel coronavirus, according to official figures.

More than half of those detained were taken into police custody, AFP reported.

Since mid-March, authorities have arrested 28,701 people across the North African country, 15,545 of whom have been referred to court after being held in custody, according to the country’s national security force DGSN.

Penalties for violating measures in place to curb the spread of the COVID-19 disease include up to three months in jail and fines of up to 1,300 dirhams ($130), or both.

Morocco imposed a public health state of emergency on March 19, confining everyone to their homes except those with a permit to be out for work.

Last week, authorities made wearing face masks in public obligatory.

Police and security agents supported by soldiers in armored cars have been deployed around the country, erecting road barriers and control points to enforce the measures.

Morocco has recorded 1,746 COVID-19 cases, with 120 deaths and 196 recoveries. Fewer than 7,000 tests have been carried out.

The largest number of arrests were made in the country’s economic centre of Casablanca and the capital Rabat, according to the DGSN.

Isolation measures have proved most challenging in densely populated, working-class neighborhoods, according to local media reports.

Economic paralysis brought on by the pandemic has left millions of Moroccans in a precarious existence, with the bulk of the workforce made up of informal workers dependent on odd jobs and lacking access to social safety nets.

In the absence of a social database, authorities are working to identify needy families to distribute direct financial aid and food baskets.

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سفارت مغرب (Morocco)

reporter 1222 — Mon, 29 Apr 2019 17:46:01 +0000

سفارت مغرب (Morocco)

آدرس: باهنر (نیاوران)- خیابان ‏جهانشاهی- کوچه ‏چکاوک- پلاک ۴‏

تلفن: ‏۲۲۲۸۴۸۴۵‏

فکس: ‏۲۲۸۱۳۸۲۹‏

سایت: http://www.sefaratmaghreb.com

ایمیل: sifamateh@sefaratmaghreb.comsifamateh@sefaratmaghreb.com

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UN to Adopt Migration Pact at Meeting Hit by Withdrawals

reporter 1222 — Mon, 10 Dec 2018 08:14:16 +0000

Politicians from around the globe will gather Monday in Morocco for a major conference to endorse a United Nations migration pact, despite a string of withdrawals driven by anti-immigrant populism.

The Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration was finalized at the UN in July after 18 months of talks and is due to be formally adopted with the bang of a gavel at the start of the two-day conference in Marrakesh.

The US government disavowed the negotiations late last year, and since then Australia, Austria, the Czech Republic, Dominican Republic, Hungary, Latvia, Poland and Slovakia have pulled out of the process, AFP reported.

The US on Friday took a fresh swipe at the pact, labelling it “an effort by the United Nations to advance global governance at the expense of the sovereign right of states”.

But a host of other nations led by German Chancellor Angela Merkel are in Morocco to endorse the deal and the UN remains upbeat that it can help the world better cope with the hot-button issue.

On the eve of the conference, UN special representative for migration Louise Arbor hit back at the pact’s critics, insisting the document is not legally binding.

“It is surprising that there has been so much misinformation about what the compact is and what the text actually says,” she told reporters in Marrakesh.

“It creates no right to migrate. It places no imposition on states,” she said, adding that 159 member countries are due to attend the conference, including “around 100” represented by heads of state, heads of government or ministers.

But rows over the accord have erupted in several European Union nations, hobbling Belgium’s coalition government and pushing Slovakia’s foreign minister to tender his resignation.

From the United States to Europe and beyond, right-wing leaders have taken increasingly draconian measures to shut out migrants in recent years.

US President Donald Trump has pledged to build a wall on the US-Mexico border and has focused his recent ire on a migrant caravan from Central America, while a populist coalition government in Italy has clamped down on boats rescuing migrants at sea.

Beyond Merkel, among European nations the leaders of Spain, Greece, Denmark and Portugal are set to attend, although French President Emmanuel Macron is sending his secretary of state for foreign affairs as he deals with the “yellow vest” protests at home.

Belgium’s liberal premier Charles Michel won the support of parliament to head to Morocco and back the accord, but he was left leading a minority government on Sunday after the Flemish nationalist party said it will quit his coalition over the pact.

Belgium is among a group of seven nations described by Arbor as still “engaged in further internal deliberations” over the accord, with Bulgaria, Estonia, Italy, Israel, Slovenia and Switzerland also falling into this category.

Billed as the first international document on managing migration, the global pact lays out 23 objectives to open up legal migration and discourage illegal border crossings, as the number of people on the move globally has surged to more than 250 million.

But while welcoming the UN’s attempts to manage migration, activists argue that the pact does not go far enough to secure migrants’ rights.

“Unfortunately, the non-binding nature of the Global Compact on Migration makes its implementation solely based on the goodwill of states supporting it,” Amnesty International’s senior advocate for the Americas, Perseo Quiroz, said in comments emailed to AFP.

After the Marrakesh conference, the UN General Assembly is set to adopt a resolution formally endorsing the deal on December 19.

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Iran, Morocco a key match for Team Melli, Iran ambassador to Russia says

reporter 1222 — Thu, 14 Jun 2018 05:50:19 +0000

MOSCOW – Iran’s ambassador to Russia Mehdi Sanaei said Team Melli match against Morocco would be Iran’s key matchnin the 21st edition of the 2018 World Cup.

Iran national football team, headed by Carlos Queiroz, will meet the Atlas Lions on Friday in St Petersburg.

Iran, making their fifth appearance in the World Cup finals, meanwhile, face Spain in Kazan on 20 June before meeting Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal in Saransk five days later.

“We have a good feeling because Iran’s national football team is a strong team and we can make history in this competition,” Sanaei, who met the Iranian players and coaching staff in Bakovka camp, told reporters.

“I will be in St Petersburg to watch Team Melli match against Morocco and I think it would be a key match for both of the teams. I have met the Iranian players but I know Sardar Azmoun and Saeid Ezatolahi better than others because they play in Russian Premiere League,” he added.

The 2018 FIFA World Cup starts in Moscow’s Luzhniki Stadium on Thursday with a match between Russia and Saudi Arabia.

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