Morocco: Ceuta and Western Sahara At Heart of U.S.-Morocco Rapprochement

What the report says

AllAfrica, citing a Radio France Internationale interview, reports that the United States has recently signaled a closer relationship with Morocco, building on the 2020 U.S. decision to support Morocco’s autonomy plan for Western Sahara in return for Morocco normalizing ties with Israel. The new focus, according to the report, includes possible U.S. backing for Morocco’s claims over the Spanish enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla, as well as continued support for Morocco’s position in the long-running Western Sahara dispute.

The article centers on comments by Riccardo Fabiani of the International Crisis Group, who argues that Rabat is trying to preserve U.S. backing through a mix of diplomatic gestures and economic cooperation. As examples, the piece points to a U.S. grant-backed hydrogen and ammonia project in Western Sahara and Morocco’s decision to name a highway after Donald Trump. It also notes that two U.S. lawmakers have proposed examining whether the Polisario Front should be designated a terrorist organization and whether it has links to Iran.

The report places these developments against wider regional tensions involving Spain, Algeria and Israel. It says Morocco has used the Ceuta migration crisis and the Western Sahara issue to press its case, while Spain’s position on Western Sahara has remained officially unchanged. The significance, the article suggests, is that continued U.S. support could strengthen Morocco’s hand in future negotiations and potentially reopen debate over Spain’s sovereignty claims in Ceuta and Melilla.