In the wake of the UN Security Council's adoption of Resolution 2797 on Friday, October 31, Iran's state-run news agency IRNA issued a strong critique of Algeria's lackluster defense of the Polisario's stance. «Algeria opted for a policy of the empty chair instead of leveraging its strategic ally, Russia, to veto this resolution. Could the leadership in Algiers have preemptively accepted the Moroccanization of Western Sahara? This could be due to American pressure, or perhaps Algeria has secured gains elsewhere, possibly in economic or investment sectors», the agency speculated. The agency highlighted that despite Algeria's persistent calls for «the independence of Western Sahara», the Security Council reaffirmed its backing for the 2007 plan proposed by Rabat, which offers «broad autonomy under Moroccan sovereignty for this 266,000 km² territory, abundant in phosphate and fishery resources». Iran has recognized the «Sahrawi Republic» since the early 1980s. Following the collapse of Bashar Al-Assad's regime in Syria, numerous international media outlets and American think tanks have been scrutinizing the connections between the Polisario militias and the Iranian regime. In light of these developments, two American lawmakers, Republican Senator Joe Wilson and Democratic Representative Jimmy Panetta, have introduced a bill to Congress seeking to designate the Polisario as a terrorist organization according to the United States' established criteria.
