Iran delegation visits Algeria and Tunisia as rapprochement gathers pace

Talks represent warming relations between Tehran and the two North African countries

Brahim Boughali, left, Algeria's National Assembly Speaker, meets late Iranian president Ebrahim Raisi in August last year as part of a state visit to Tehran. Photo: Irna

A delegation of Iranian politicians has begun a week-long visit to Algeria and Tunisia as Tehran seeks greater co-operation and a stronger presence in North Africa.

The group, led by Ibrahim Azizi, head of the Iranian Parliament's National Security and Foreign Policy Committee, was on Wednesday in Algeria and is expected to arrive in Tunisia on Thursday.

Mr Azizi was accompanied by other members of the committee as well as Mohammad Reza Babai, Iran’s ambassador to Algeria.

Diplomatic relations between Algiers and Tehran have been turbulent for decades, with tension reaching a peak in the 1990s when Algeria accused Iran and others of supporting Islamist extremist groups in a brutal civil war known as “the Black Decade”. The conflict led to the deaths of an estimated 200,000 people, mostly members of the Algerian government security forces.

This led to the severance of ties, which were resumed in the early 2000s by late Algerian president Abdelaziz Bouteflika and his Iranian counterpart at the time Mohammad Khatami.

Despite the resumption, relations remained lukewarm until last year, when high-profile politicians began exchanging visits starting with late Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian, who travelled to Algiers in July. That was followed by a four-day visit to Tehran by Brahim Boughali, the Algerian National People’s Assembly Speaker, during which he met late Iranian president Ebrahim Raisi.

During the current visit, the delegation has met Algerian Foreign Minister Ahmed Attaf and the chairmen of the foreign affairs committees in Algeria’s two parliamentary chambers – Mohamed Amroun and Mohamed Khawan.

A statement by Mr Attaf’s office released on Tuesday said “the reality and prospects of the fraternal and co-operative relations between the two brotherly countries” were reviewed at the meeting. It also discussed ways to boost relations to “the highest possible levels”.

Mr Amroun said: “It is an opportunity for the two parties to discuss the current good bilateral relations between Algeria and Iran … and ways to raise them to the best level by strengthening co-operation and consolidating the registered consensus on many regional and international issues, especially those related to the Palestinian issue and the challenges facing the Islamic world."

The officials also discussed ways to boost economic and commercial co-operation, especially in agriculture, tourism and education.

Algeria, which occupies a non-permanent seat at the UN Security Council, made reference to Israel's wars in Gaza and Lebanon, raising what it called infringements to the rule of international law, a decline in regional security and “the dangerous global transformations that threaten the stability of Islamic countries”.

The Iranian delegation’s scheduled visit to Tunisia on Thursday is also drawing attention as it marks a shift in Tunisia’s conventional foreign policy, signalling a perceived realignment away from the West.

The new phase was ushered in when Tunisian President Kais Saied made a historic visit to Iran in May for the funeral of late Iranian president Mr Raisi. It was a first for a Tunisian head of state since Habib Bourguiba visited Tehran in 1965. Mr Saied met several high-ranking Iranian officials including supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, meanwhile, was among the first world leaders to congratulate Mr Saied on his re-election last month.

In a further sign of warming relations, Tunisia relaxed visa requirements for Iranian tourists in June. The move followed similar measures for Tunisian citizens entering Iran.