Demonising Algeria With the Scarecrow of “Iran’s Strategic Ally”

There have been many political readings and media interpretations regarding Algeria’s position on the conflict between Iran and the Zionist entity.

These interpretations have even reached the point of placing Algeria in the position of siding with Tehran, considering it a strategic ally. This is promoted by the French, Zionist, and Moroccan media. These media outlets have published a series of articles, such as the French newspaper Le Point and the Zionist Jerusalem Post. France 24 has also opened platforms on what has been described as Algeria’s public “support” for Iran.

These articles and analyses are not based on factual data or real information. Quite the contrary, they all rely on a superficial, untrue reading of Algeria’s positions on the Iranian-Zionist conflict. Algeria’s position on the US strikes on Iran was no more strident than the statements issued by the foreign ministries of many Arab countries. Algerian foreign ministry statements emphasise the need to respect international law, rather than glorifying Iranian strikes.

In the same context, Algeria’s position is consistent with the principles of international law, particularly regarding the so-called “preventive war,” which is internationally prohibited and rejected by the United Nations. Algeria’s actions are merely a call to uphold international law and the need to apply the same principle regarding the non-subjection of Israeli nuclear facilities to international oversight, unlike Tehran, which cooperates closely with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), before its recent suspension.

Therefore, this classification campaign is not based on any political, economic, or even security data. Rather, it falls within a media scheme woven by Zionist-Makhzen intelligence agencies, aimed at “demonising Algeria.” This is just as the same forces and mouthpieces sought to spread the slander claiming that “Algerian soldiers” were among those killed in the Zionist bombing of Iran. This scenario is completely similar to the disgraceful story produced by Moroccan intelligence agencies—with Zionist planning—regarding the dispatch of Algerians to fight in Syria alongside Bashar al-Assad’s forces. This was followed by the same mouthpieces releasing a new story about the presence of Algerians alongside the M23 movement in the Congo. This is essentially the same propaganda, misinformation and lobbying used in a project targeting Algeria.

The publisher of the story about the presence of “Algerian soldiers” in Iran simply ignores the fact that Algeria and Iran have no military agreements or treaties, neither with training nor with military exercises, nor the exchange of official visits between military leaders. Thus, Iran is the only country with which Algeria has formal relations, and with which Algeria has not concluded any military agreements.

Politically, Algeria’s international positions differ from Iran’s on some issues, as do the relations that bind Algeria to many countries. This is based on the principle of taking into account each country’s interests. This is not limited to a specific country. For example, Iran, to clarify this point, has never officially declared its support for Western Sahara in its struggle for independence. Iran has adopted an ambiguous position on this issue in official diplomatic forums, particularly within the United Nations’ decolonisation commissions.

Understanding Algerian-Iranian relations requires examining the reality of the bilateral partnership in all areas. In the economic field, Algeria has not concluded any agreements with Iran, nor has the joint commission held any meetings to discuss economic cooperation between the two countries. Trade exchanges are nonexistent.

In light of this, observers believe that Algerian-Iranian relations do not rise to the level of an ally and that Algeria’s positions on events in the region are in line with its positions, principles, and doctrine in foreign policy.