The debate in Washington over the possible designation of the Polisario Front as a terrorist organization has reached a new stage after three members of the U.S. Congress introduced legislation in the Senate that could open the door to placing the group on the United States’ terrorism list. The move comes months after a similar initiative was introduced in the House of Representatives by Congressman Joe Wilson.
Republican senators Ted Cruz, Tom Cotton, and Rick Scott announced the introduction of the “Polisario Front Terrorist Designation Act of 2026,” a bill aimed at requiring the U.S. State Department to examine potential links between the Polisario Front and groups affiliated with Iran, as a step toward adding the organization to U.S. terrorism lists if military or logistical cooperation is confirmed.
The Senate initiative builds on discussions that began in the House following the effort led by Republican Representative Joe Wilson, who in June called on the U.S. administration to examine the possibility of designating the Polisario Front as a terrorist organization amid allegations of ties with Iran-backed actors.
According to the text of the bill introduced by the three senators, the legislation requires the U.S. Secretary of State to submit a report detailing any potential cooperation between the Polisario Front and Iran-linked groups. The report would examine areas such as military or intelligence collaboration, as well as the acquisition of weapons systems, including drones or other advanced military equipment.
If such links are confirmed, the bill calls for the Polisario Front to be designated both as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) and as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT) entity. Such a move could trigger sweeping sanctions, including the freezing of assets, travel bans, and restrictions on access to the international financial system.
Senator Ted Cruz said in defense of the proposal that the Iranian regime is “trying to turn the Polisario Front into the Houthis of West Africa and use them to undermine the national security of the United States and its allies,” accusing the group of cooperating with Iranian organizations and obtaining drones from them while facilitating the movement of weapons in the region on behalf of Tehran.
For his part, Senator Tom Cotton described the Polisario Front as “a terrorist organization that openly supports Iran and Hezbollah,” referring to Hezbollah, adding that formally designating it as such is “long overdue.” Senator Rick Scott meanwhile stressed the need to confront what he described as the group’s ties with U.S. adversaries, saying the bill would provide Washington with the tools necessary to investigate those links and hold those involved accountable.
The introduction of the bill in the Senate opens the door to a new phase of legislative debate within Congress over the regional connections of the Polisario Front. It also reflects a growing tendency among some U.S. political circles to frame the Western Sahara conflict within the broader geopolitical competition unfolding in Africa, particularly amid increasing accusations about Iran’s activities and networks across the region.
It is worth noting that Republican Congressman Joe Wilson announced in June 2025 that he had formally introduced a bill in the House of Representatives alongside Democratic Representative Jimmy Panetta seeking to designate the Polisario Front as a Foreign Terrorist Organization, following months of preparation and advocacy for the proposal.
Wilson revealed the initiative in a post on his official account on the social media platform X, describing the Polisario Front as a “Marxist militia backed by Iran, Hezbollah, and Russia,” and claiming it provides “a strategic foothold for Tehran in Africa while destabilizing the Kingdom of Morocco, a U.S. ally for 248 years.”
In the same post, Wilson said he was “proud to introduce bipartisan legislation with Congressman Jimmy Panetta to designate the Polisario Front as a Foreign Terrorist Organization,” suggesting a degree of cross-party support in Washington for taking action against a group he argues does not align with U.S. strategic interests.
Wilson based his proposal on a series of reports and documents alleging involvement by the Polisario Front in terrorist activities and alliances with actors hostile to the United States, including Iran. Among the materials cited are documents showing images of Polisario fighters alongside a portrait of Ruhollah Khomeini dating back to 1980, which Wilson’s proposal suggests was part of efforts to secure Iranian backing for the separatist movement.
The documents referenced in Wilson’s proposal, reviewed by Assahifa, also cite reporting by the French magazine Jeune Afrique indicating that three officers from Hezbollah conducted military training for Polisario fighters in the Algerian town of Tindouf. According to those reports, one of the officers involved had previously participated in planning attacks in the Iraqi city of Karbala in 2007 that killed five U.S. soldiers, before being killed in 2023 during an Israeli airstrike in Syria.
Wilson’s file also points to multiple links between Iran and the Polisario Front, including statements made in 2022 by the group’s self-described “interior minister,” who said Polisario members were training to use drones. Polisario fighters later appeared operating Iranian-made drones in videos published through channels affiliated with the movement.
In addition, the proposal refers to reporting by the American newspaper The Washington Post in April 2025 indicating that Iran had trained Polisario members and supplied them with drones, a development the proposal argues increases the capabilities of the separatist group.
Wilson’s initiative also cites alleged connections between the Polisario Front and other militant groups, including the presence of a branch linked to the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) in Syria at a summit organized by the Polisario in Tindouf under the name “Sahrawi Solidarity Summit,” noting that the PKK is designated as a terrorist organization by the United States.
