Morocco's King Says Determined to React Against Any Security Threat

Morocco's King Mohammed VI (C), flanked by his brother Prince Moulay Rachid (R) and son Crown Prince Moulay Hassan, speaks to the nation, last July. (AFP)
Morocco's King Mohammed VI (C), flanked by his brother Prince Moulay Rachid (R) and son Crown Prince Moulay Hassan, speaks to the nation, last July. (AFP)
TT
20

Morocco's King Says Determined to React Against Any Security Threat

Morocco's King Mohammed VI (C), flanked by his brother Prince Moulay Rachid (R) and son Crown Prince Moulay Hassan, speaks to the nation, last July. (AFP)
Morocco's King Mohammed VI (C), flanked by his brother Prince Moulay Rachid (R) and son Crown Prince Moulay Hassan, speaks to the nation, last July. (AFP)

Morocco's King Mohammed VI warned Monday that his country will respond in self-defense against any threat to his country's security. This came during a phone conversation the King held with UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres over the situation in Guerguerat.

King Mohammed stressed that Morocco will take necessary measures to keep order and protect safety and fluidity of passenger and commercial traffic in border area between Morocco and Mauritania.

Morocco, however, also remains "firmly determined to react, with the greatest severity, and in self-defense, against any threat to its security,” the king said, quoted in an official statement.

"Morocco took its responsibility in line with its legitimate right after the UN Secretary-General failed in its laudable attempts to end the unacceptable acts of the Polisario," he noted.

Morocco will continue supporting UN efforts to find a political solution on the basis of clear criteria and with the participation of real parties to this regional conflict in order to find a realistic, feasible solution within Morocco’s sovereignty, he added.

“Morocco restored the situation, proceeded to a lasting settlement of the problem and guaranteed resumption of traffic flow.”

For its part, the Somali Ministry of Foreign Affairs expressed support to Morocco in a tweet.

“The government of the Federal Republic of Somalia stands alongside the brotherly Kingdom of Morocco in all the measures it undertakes to protect its security and sovereignty over its territories at the Guerguerat crossing point between Morocco and Mauritania.”

Also, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of The Gambia issued a press release on Monday to hail Morocco’s “peaceful and decisive intervention” to secure the region after Polisario and its supporters staged illegal protests in the region.

The West African country also said it supports the UN-led political process to find a political solution to the Western Sahara conflict.

Moreover, President of the Pan-African Parliament Roger Nkodo Dang has sent a letter to the African Union foreign ministers to draw their attention to the maneuvers of the 3rd Vice President of the PAP Jamal Bouras against the interests of the Kingdom of Morocco.

The authoritarian abuses of Bouras, who acts as the president without rotation, have created a serious institutional and functional crisis within the Pan-African Parliament, Dang underlined in the letter.

The president, blocked in Cameroon, stressed that all decisions, declarations, and actions taken outside what is provided for by the texts in force, cannot be considered as reflecting the position of the PAP or its legitimate bodies.



Israel Shocks Lebanon with Plan to Link Withdrawal to Normalization

Israeli soldiers patrol near the Israel-Lebanon border, in Israel, March 12, 2025. REUTERS/Avi Ohayon
Israeli soldiers patrol near the Israel-Lebanon border, in Israel, March 12, 2025. REUTERS/Avi Ohayon
TT
20

Israel Shocks Lebanon with Plan to Link Withdrawal to Normalization

Israeli soldiers patrol near the Israel-Lebanon border, in Israel, March 12, 2025. REUTERS/Avi Ohayon
Israeli soldiers patrol near the Israel-Lebanon border, in Israel, March 12, 2025. REUTERS/Avi Ohayon

Lebanon’s government and public were caught off guard by Israeli leaks suggesting a potential deal that would link Israel’s withdrawal from Lebanese territory and the demarcation of land borders to a normalization agreement between Beirut and Tel Aviv.

However, Lebanon firmly rejects the idea, stressing that border talks are strictly security-focused, limited to Israel’s withdrawal, border delineation, and the release of detainees.

The leaks, attributed to an Israeli political source, emerged a day after Israel released four Lebanese detainees in what it described as a “goodwill gesture.” The development coincided with preparations for negotiations on disputed border points.

Israeli media quoted a political source as saying that talks with Lebanon are part of a broader, comprehensive plan.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s policies have reshaped the Middle East, and Israel wants to maintain this momentum to achieve normalization with Lebanon, the source said.

Just as Lebanon has demands regarding the border, Israel has its own demands as well, and these issues will be discussed, the source further stated.

The remarks were seen as an Israeli attempt to link border demarcation and withdrawal from Lebanese territory to a normalization agreement, according to a Lebanese lawmaker following the developments.

However, Lebanon firmly rejects any such linkage, considering it an overreach beyond the mandate of the committee overseeing the implementation of the ceasefire agreement that took effect on November 26.

A senior Lebanese official told Asharq Al-Awsat that the idea of linking border discussions to normalization with Israel is “not on the table for Lebanon.”

The official emphasized that the mandate of the five-nation committee, formed after the recent conflict, is “security-focused, not political,” and is strictly limited to implementing UN Security Council Resolution 1701.

The official explained that the committee's role is “confined to overseeing Israel’s withdrawal from five remaining occupied border points, demarcating the 13 disputed border areas, and securing the release of Lebanese detainees held by Israel.”

While the remarks were attributed to an unnamed source rather than an official spokesperson, they caught Lebanese officials off guard.

Diplomatic sources told Asharq Al-Awsat that Lebanon’s Foreign Ministry had not been informed of any such proposal and that no international official had raised the issue so far.

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun met on Tuesday with US General Jasper Jeffers, head of the ceasefire monitoring committee, alongside US Ambassador Lisa Johnson, ahead of a committee meeting in Naqoura.

According to the Lebanese presidency, Aoun urged the committee chief to pressure Israel to implement the agreement, withdraw from the five occupied hills, and release Lebanese detainees.