Morocco accused Iran on Tuesday of providing military support to the Polisario Front and denied that its decision to sever diplomatic relations with Tehran was the result of pressure from some countries. The Moroccan Foreign Ministry said in a statement that following Morocco’s decision to cut off diplomatic relations with Iran, “some circles claimed, without any arguments, that the Kingdom made this decision under pressure from some countries.” The statement added that Morocco was among the few Islamic countries that normalized ties with Iran, when the Moroccan ambassador returned to his post in Tehran in November 2016, while Tehran’s crisis with some Arab and Western countries was at its peak. It also said that Morocco has shown in a number of regional and international crises that its positions were taken independently, in full conformity with its principles and with its own assessment. On Tuesday, Moroccan Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita told reporters that his country would close its embassy in Tehran and would expel the Iranian ambassador to Rabat. He said that Iran and the Lebanese “Hezbollah” were supporting Polisario by training and arming its fighters, via the Iranian embassy in Algeria. The ministry stressed that the Moroccan decision was not in any way against Iranian and Lebanese citizens, who are not involved in “such hostilities, which are committed by Hezbollah in collusion with the Polisario Front and with the blessing of Iran.” Meanwhile, the Iranian embassy in Algiers said in a statement that it “categorically denies Moroccan allegations about its relationship with the Polisario activities.” “The accusations are false and the [embassy] confirms its commitment to exercise its legal and natural role in consolidating and deepening the good relations between the two brotherly countries, Iran and Algeria,” the statement said. The Algerian foreign ministry has summoned the Moroccan ambassador in the wake of the recent measures.