Summary:

On 28 November 2024, an Iranian parliamentary delegation met with the Tunisian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mohamed Ali Nafti, to discuss strengthening cooperation between the two countries. 

The Iranian delegation was led by Ibrahim Raisi, head of the National Security and Foreign Policy Committee in the Iranian Parliament and former member and spokesperson of Iran’s Guardian Council, a special body with various political and bureaucratic oversight powers. 

Raisi praised the positions of the President of the Republic on regional issues, most notably Tunisia’s support for Palestinians. 

Azizi also stressed the Islamic Republic of Iran’s aspiration to strengthen fraternal relations and cooperation with Tunisia, particularly in the economic, cultural, and academic fields. 

In the preceding days, Iran’s delegation conducted a three-day visit to Algeria starting on 25 November, meeting with Algeria’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ahmed Attaf, the chairman of the parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee, Mohamed Khouane, the president of the parliament Brahim Boughali, and the Minister of Energy and Mining Mohamed Arkad. 

Recent data furnished by Iran indicated that the country’s overall trade with the African continent stands at approximately $1.3 billion. 

Outlook: 

The recent visits by an Iranian delegation to Tunisia and Algeria highlight Iranian interest in North Africa as it aims to establish a foothold for expanding trade ties with African countries. 

Iranian rapprochement with the two North African countries could also be interpreted as an anticipatory move to strengthen its political ties with countries sharing similar positions on regional issues amid fears of tightening sanctions under the Trump presidency or other significant shifts in the regional security and economic landscape.  

As fighting continues in Gaza amidst a new ceasefire deal in southern Lebanon, Iran likely remains highly conscious of the fragility of the region and the potential for its position to rapidly change. 

Garnering allies in North Africa is also likely to serve Iran’s ambitions to contain Israeli influence in the region as the latter is developing relations with Morocco with deals including Morocco producing Israeli drones and purchasing Israeli spy satellite technology.  

This containment strategy is also manifest in Iranian supply of missiles and lethal material to the separatist Algerian-backed Polisario in the western Sahara and the support of Sahrawi independence in the United Nations. 

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