Morocco - AL-MONITOR: The Middle Eastʼs leading independent news source since 2012

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Rabat

Morocco

June 15, 2026

Rabat 3:37 pm

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Morocco's midfielder Azzedine Ounahi celebrates scoring with teammates during the FIFA World Cup 2026 Group E African qualification football match between Morocco and Niger at the Prince Moulay Abdellah Sports Complex in Rabat on September 5, 2025. (Photo by Abdel Majid BZIOUAT / AFP)

Culture

10 MENA teams at 2026 World Cup: Morocco eyes title, Iran faces visa hurdles

Jordan is competing in its first World Cup, while Iraq is making only its second appearance, as teams from the region seek to advance against European and Latin American powerhouses.

Crops of wheat and barley in Terbol village on May 10, 2022, in Bekaa Valley, Lebanon.

Analysis

MENA wheat importers face food security risks as Hormuz crisis festers

Home to many of the world's largest wheat importers, the Middle East and North Africa face acute food security risks as the US-Israel-Iran war disrupts global fertilizer flows and pushes up prices.

Samuel Wendel

By Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

Archaeologists at the entrance of the Contrebandiers (Smugglers) Cave, some 12 miles from the Moroccan capital, Rabat, Sept. 18, 2021.

Culture

Fossil discovery repositions Morocco at center of human evolution 800,000 years ago

Once overlooked, Morocco has emerged as a focal point of human prehistory, with new discoveries and a landmark report reshaping what we know about our species’ evolution.

An emergency vehicle drives through flood waters as residents are evacuated and relocated to other towns as preventive and emergency evacuations are carried out to move residents living near flood-prone areas following the weather alert and the rise in the water level of the Loukkos River, with flooding expected in the coming days, in Ksar El Kebir on Feb. 1, 2026.

Storm Leonardo displaces 140,000 as heavy floods hit northern Morocco

Heavy rains from the storm have flooded northern Morocco, prompting mass evacuations and straining emergency services.

Latest News

From Egypt to Lebanon: What’s at stake for regional states on Trump’s visa ban list?

Culture

Morocco’s next generation of writers fights for a place on the shelf

A customer browses books at a bookshop in the Moroccan capital Rabat on August 9, 2018. On the main arteries of old Rabat, dozens of itinerant booksellers offer books in French, Arabic, and sometimes in English, up to ten times cheaper than their originals. Despite being prohibited, the pirated-books market is largely tolerated in cities across the North African kingdom. (Photo by FADEL SENNA / AFP) (Photo by FADEL SENNA/AFP via Getty Images)

Morocco’s markets rise as World Cup spending fuels largest IPO in decades

CASABLANCA, MOROCCO - AUGUST 20: In this handout image from Populous, digital renderings of the proposed Stade Hassan II stadium in Morocco, projected to be the largest football stadium in the world with 115,000 capacity are depicted on August 20, 2024 in Casablanca, Morocco. The stadium design is by Populous and Oulalou + Choi (Photo by Populous via Handout/Getty Images)

Naima Morelli

In Rome, reporting on Middle East culture

Francisco Serrano

In Lisbon, reporting on North Africa business

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman looks out as leaders arrive for a family photo at the G20 in Buenos Aires, Argentina November 30, 2018. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque - RC1CF27DCB60

Saudi Arabia's estrangement

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman got into the G-20 group photo, but his brand remains very toxic.

Morocco eyes privatization to fill its budget deficit

The 2019 finance bill shows a return of the privatization process in Morocco as a step in the direction of opening up the economy, but economists believe this is the ultimate proof of a failing fiscal policy.

Rep. Michael McCaul (R-TX) speaks at the Capitol Hill National Security Forum at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, U.S., June 21, 2018. REUTERS/Aaron P. Bernstein - RC14236FD8D0

Congress seeks more control over North Africa counterterror program

Lawmakers want a coherent strategy for the desert region from the Donald Trump administration.

Middle East upheaval casts shadow over 'Arab NATO'

A regional military exercise hosted by Egypt excludes Qatar in a blow to anti-Iran unity.

Gazans flee to Europe, illegally

Palestinians are increasingly seeking to leave the Gaza Strip given the deteriorating living conditions, seeking refuge in Europe.

The Polisario Front soldiers drive a pick-up truck mounted with an anti-aircraft weapon during sunset in Bir Lahlou, Western Sahara, September 9, 2016. REUTERS/Zohra Bensemra SEARCH “POLISARIO” FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES. - S1BEUKRIISAA

Intel: How Morocco used anti-Iran rhetoric to score its first bill in Congress

Moroccan Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita (L) walks with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo at the US State Department in Washington, DC, on September 17, 2018. (Photo by Jim WATSON / AFP) (Photo credit should read JIM WATSON/AFP/Getty Images)

Morocco plays Iran card to get US support on Western Sahara

Morocco is alleging ties between Hezbollah and the Polisario Front to secure the Donald Trump administration’s support for its territorial claims on the disputed region.

Mideast migrants face increased discrimination in Italy

New Italian Interior Minister Matteo Salvini is taking steps to stop illegal migration to Italy, but critics say his methods are fueling racism against Middle Eastern foreigners.

Rep. Michael McCaul (R-TX) speaks at the Capitol Hill National Security Forum at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, U.S., June 21, 2018. REUTERS/Aaron P. Bernstein - RC14236FD8D0

Congress seeks uptick in North Africa operations

The House Homeland Security panel chief wants to boost funding for counterterrorism in the Sahara region.

A wounded Palestinian boy is evacuated during a protest marking al-Quds Day, (Jerusalem Day), at the Israel-Gaza border in the southern Gaza Strip June 8, 2018. REUTERS/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa - RC1DC5C1B3A0

Morocco helps ease burden on Gaza hospitals

Given the medical and humanitarian crisis crippling Gaza’s hospitals while the Great Return March continues, Morocco delivered an aid convoy that included a field hospital to ease the burden on the territory's overtaxed and underequipped health care services.

Pro-Palestinian protesters wave Palestinian flags and chant slogans against the US and Israel on December 10, 2017 during a demonstration in Rabat against US President Donald Trump's declaration of Jerusalem as Israel's capital. / AFP PHOTO / FADEL SENNA (Photo credit should read FADEL SENNA/AFP/Getty Images)

Morocco wants to help resolve Palestinians' problems

As some Arab states, struggling with their own problems, are paying less attention to the Palestinian cause and comatose reconciliation process, Moroccans are stepping up their support.

Morocco-Algeria tensions flare over claims of Hezbollah support to Polisario

Morocco’s accusation that Hezbollah and Iran are plotting against it with the Polisario Front has escalated tension with Algeria.