Morocco denies cutting ties with Iran under pressure from so

Morocco denied Wednesday that its decision to cut diplomatic relations with Iran was taken under pressure from other countries.

The Moroccan Foreign Ministry made the remarks after pro-Iranian circles, including Iran's Lebanese ally Hezbollah, said Tuesday that Morocco took the decision to severe ties with Iran under "American, Israeli, Saudi pressure."

On Tuesday, Morocco decided to sever relationships with Iran over its backing to Western Sahara's separatist movement the Polisario Front, the Moroccan Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita said.

Bourita said Morocco will expel the Iranian ambassador in Rabat and will close its embassy in Tehran.

The Moroccan foreign minister said his country has "strong evidence of Iran's involvement through its proxy Hezbollah in supporting the Polisario Front financially and through training of its members to undermine Morocco's security and stability."

"Instead of responding to these facts, these circles seek to resort to unfounded arguments," the foreign ministry said in the statement.

The same source noted that Morocco was among the few Muslim countries to re-establish diplomatic relations with Iran by reappointing an ambassador to Tehran in November 2016 when Iran's crisis with some Arab and Western countries was already at its height.

Morocco has demonstrated, in several regional and international crises, that its stances are taken independently, it stressed, adding that they correspond to its principles and respond to its own assessment.

The Moroccan-Iranian relations have been marred by tensions since the Iranian revolution in 1979. The two countries normalized relations only in early 1990s.

In 2009, Morocco cut ties with Tehran. Morocco said that Iran was supporting efforts to convert Moroccans, who are predominantly Sunni, to Shiite Islam.